The great north-of-the-border booze fest better known as cinco de mayo goes today and no doubt, most of the drunken revelers will eroneously toast Mexican independence, when the proper day is Sept. 16.
Here in Western Mexico, cinco de mayo is just another day. All of the small businesses lining my suburban Guadalajara street are open - and look busy. Perhaps in Puebla they're celebrating, but somewhat ironically, Ignacio Zaragoza, the Mexican general who defeated the French at the 1862 Battle of Puebla, will soon have his image removed from the 500 peso note. Artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera – ironically, both communists – will replace him. That speaks volumes about the holiday's stature in most parts of Mexico.
Anyway, the CanWest newspapers recycled a story I sent last year to the Calgary Herald on Mexicans disinterest in cinco de mayo. It's informative and like this post, a bit cynical.
1 comment:
Actually Cinco de Mayo passed rather quietly this year in the US, no doubt due to the sensitivity of marketers to illegal immigration concerns of many in the US.
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