Why Are Americans So Obsessed With Cinco De Mayo?
On Friday, Mexico will celebrate the anniversary of their surprise victory over the French army at the Battle Of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Here in America, there will also be people celebrating the Mexican army's unlikely triumph.
But there will also be a great deal of people celebrating Cinco De Mayo in name only. Why? Here are a few things to read to help explain why.
American Cinco De Mayo Began As A Way To Celebrate Mexican American Heritage
As Mexican immigrants flooded into the American southwest, they joined in the festivities with their fellow Mexican-Americans who were already living in the United States without really knowing the story behind the holiday, and over time the date came to be a showcase of Mexican ethnic identity rather than a celebration of the battle against the invading French forces.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Jody Agius Vallejo, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California, explained the Cinco de Mayo phenomenon this way: "It's very similar to how Irish-Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day," said Vallejo. "One way they can honor their ethnicity is to celebrate this day, even when most don't know why."
It Is Not Mexican Independence Day
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War that took place from 1861-1867. Specifically, it marks the day when General Ignacio Zaragoza and a group of 2,000 ill-supplied Mexican soldiers defeated Charles Ferdinand Latrille, Comte de Lorence after French forces attack Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. Five hundred French soldiers were killed in the battle; fewer than 100 Mexican soldiers were killed.
[AL.com]
And It's Not Really Celebrated In Mexico, Either
Cinco de Mayo's popularity has waned in Mexico, celebrated now mostly in Puebla. Boosted by commercialization, it has surged in popularity in the United States.
Elias Hermida, a Mexican-born entrepreneur, was surprised by the scope of celebrations in the U.S. after moving to Austin, Texas about 10 years ago. "Cinco de Mayo is not that big in Mexico," Hermida said. "I think that adopting the holiday is a reflection of how the Hispanic culture is finding its own way in the U.S."
[NBC News]
Beer Companies Co-Opted The Holiday And Made It Very Popular
In 1989 the San Antonio based Gambrinus Group, who were the regional importers of Corona and Grupo Modelo, launched a Cinco de Mayo themed ad encouraging Mexican Americans already celebrating the holiday to make it a priority on this day to drink Mexican beer. The campaign took off.
What occurred in only eight short years was the holiday solidifying itself more as a time to drink Corona than a time to acknowledge the deep connection America and Mexico share. By 1996, consuming Corona as a way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo was the core way most people acknowledged the holiday's existence, a huge victory for the Corona marketers
Like, According To Beer Sales, Really Popular
According to Nielsen, the market research company, Americans bought more than $600 million worth of beer last year for Cinco de Mayo. That's more beer than was sold for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick's Day.
It's Now Celebrated Nationwide
Among the best and most visited Cinco de Mayo festivals in the United States are held in Chicago (where the party in Douglas Park attracts 200,000), Denver (400,000 over two days), Portland, Oregon (the Waterfront Park festival attracts 300,000), and St. Paul, Minnesota.
St. Paul, Minnesota? Yes, indeed. The city includes a neighborhood known as the District del Sol, an area in the Minnesota capital's west side that started attracting Mexican immigrants in the early 20th century. The Latino population now numbers more than 25,000 — close to 10% of the city, according to St. Paul Historical — and the Cinco de Mayo festival takes up two days.
[CNN]
Is This Sort Of 'Mexico Day' Problematic?
An inevitable question, to be sure. It could be argued that donning fake mustaches and ironically sporting sombreros is, at best, counterproductive to celebrating Mexican American culture. But José M. Alamillo writes in the Washington Post it's worth at least recognizing the holiday's origins outside of beer, tacos and tequila.
So go have a drink on Cinco de Mayo. But when you do, take a moment to reflect on the evolution of this holiday that commemorates the Americanization of a Mexican diaspora eager to assert its own identity — and, increasingly, the Mexicanization of mainstream U.S. culture as well. ¡Salud!
