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Posts: 3466
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Cinco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico, officially celebrated only in the state of Puebla. It commemorates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, in which a ragtag band of some 3,000 Mexican troops and militia (the exact number is uncertain), commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza, was sent by President Benito Juarez to defend the city of Puebla against a much larger French force of some 6,000 to 7,000 troops under General Charles de Latrille de Lorencez. The Mexicans fortified the town and defeated the French force.
Many Americans celebrating today think Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day and use it as an excuse to drink Corona, that liquid masquerading as beer. Mexican Independence is celebrated on September 16th, the anniversary of the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's "Grito de Dolores" in 1810, in the town of Dolores, the "pronunciamiento" proclaiming independence from Spain, which was finally achieved in 1821. Nevertheless,Cinco de Mayo is a bigger celebration in the U.S. than in Mexico, which reserves its celebration for Independence Day, September 16.
So today, Cinco de Mayo, drink those 16 oz. margaritas and watch celebrants dance on the bar wearing Mexican sombreros. And if you happen to have your guitar with you, play a few flamenco riffs, and the crowd will go wild hearing "Mexican" music. You might even see someone of a certain vintage raising his glass and shouting "Viva Zapata," not having the slightest idea who Emiliano Zapata was, but vaguely remembering the film starring Marlon Brando as Zapata. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Cheers,
Bill
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And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Incredibly here we have a 2 de Mayo, when the people of Algodonales (a pueblo de la sierra de Cádiz where my wife was born) dress up as French troops and Spanish pueblo who fought against them. With cañones and escopetas with real powder but no balas they reanact the battle. Incredible noise. Then lots of Cruzcampo, which has much in common with Corona.
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