What is "Cinco de Mayo"? (video)

Pfc. Sandoval, Crystal Quintero, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; ABC News

What in the world is Cinco de Mayo?

It is NOT Mexican Independence Day (which is Sept. 16th), not the southern version of the Fourth of July, not the time Zapata kicked arse at the Alamo...

Why do Americans in the US love May 5th?

Europeans have a set pattern of invading.

Any excuse to party. Anglos would celebrate Native American Invasion Day if they knew when it was. (Guys, it's Columbus Day and it's already officially recognized as a holy day or "alcoholiday"). Latina/os have been so dispossessed of our history and heritage that we jump on the bandwagon. Any excuse to party. Any excuse to wave a flag, shout hoot-hoot, and identify with indigenous pre-invasion roots.

Latin Wonder Woman from the Amazon (not Greece) and Anglo Clark Kent (reddit)

(WF) We are Wonder Woman (Mujer Maravilla) like Latina Lynda Carter Cordova, who faced a racist backlash in Hollywood for being the All-American Girl because her roots were in the "wrong" part of America, south of the Mexican border.

Why the "Fifth of May"?

Mexico was much bigger as the English (U.S.) took imperial Spanish territory as war booty.

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Cinco de Mayo, which just means "Fifth of May," is nothing more than the remembrance of a battle. But it has become so much more: It is a stand-in for all holidays for everyone identifying with California and Texas when they were still part of Mexico.

Before they were taken as war booty, Alta California or El Norte, were Mexico overrun by Spanish Christian invaders and occupiers. European colonialism goes back further than US invasions and land grabs.

It goes back to the Conquistadors, Columbus, Pizarro, the Mission (concentration camp) System, the Gold Rush, fur traders from Russia and Europe, and such empires as have come and gone, some Mesoamerican and South American, many not.

 

Why do people wave Mexican flags?

DECOLONIZE YOUR DIET!

It is a point of pride to say, "We are of this origin in this culture." Many call themselves European or get more specific, African or of a country in Africa, Asian or of land and linguistic history.

Imagine being from here -- then this is taken away -- and you're still here. Wave that flag. We didn't cross the border; the border crossed us.

RECIPE: Mash avocados with tomatoes, cilantro, green chilies, seasalt, garlic, lemon juice.