(Pero Like) Sh*t you should not say on Cinco de Mayo even if you're a well-meaning Gringo
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| Maya Martinez, a manager at the Rio Bravo Brewing Company in Albuquerque, N.M., pours a craft brew, May 3, 2017, days before the brewery was set to unveil a new drink on Cinco de Mayo. Pres. Trump's immigration policies and rhetoric are leaving some Mexican Americans (Chicanos) and immigrants feeling at odds with a day they already thought was appropriated by beer and liquor companies, event promoters and local bars (AP). |
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Cinco de Mayo met with more ambivalence in the age of Trump
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| I love Mexicans, rapists, and drug dealers. |
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico - For
years, Yazmin Irazoqui Ruiz saw Cinco de Mayo ("Fifth of May") as a reason to eat tacos
and listen to Mexican music.
The 25-year-old Mexican-born medical
student left Mexico for the U.S. as a child and celebrates the day to
honor a homeland she hardly remembers.
But the Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident said
she's reluctant to take part in Cinco de Mayo festivities this year as
President Don Trump steps up federal immigration enforcement and
supporters back his call for the building of a wall along the
U.S.-Mexico border.
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| Mexican President Pena Nieto (AP) |
"I mean, what is it about? You want to eat our food
and listen to our music, but when we need you to defend us, where are
you?" Irazoqui Ruiz asked about the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in
the country.
(FLAMA/TheFlama.com) Celebrate this 4th of July like Americans
celebrate Cinco de Mayo. We'll be drunk by 11 am, put ketchup on
everything, and have absolutely no idea what we’re celebrating…Battle of
the 4th?
She isn't alone. Trump's immigration policies and rhetoric are leaving some Mexican Americans and immigrants feeling at odds with a holiday they already thought was appropriated by beer and liquor companies, event promoters, and bars.
Why? What is Cinco de Mayo?
Latino
activists and scholars say that ambivalence is bolstered by the hazy
history of Cinco de Mayo and by stereotypes exploited by marketers.
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| Battle of Pubela: Mexican Indians vs. French invaders |
The
once-obscure holiday marking a 19th century-battle between Mexico and
invading French forces is now a regular celebration in the U.S., where
partygoers flock to bars for cheap margaritas and tacos. Television
beer commercials often show mostly white actors on a beach celebrating.
"The narrative around Cinco de Mayo seems to say,
'This day really isn't yours'," said Cynthia Duarte, a sociology
professor at California Lutheran University.
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| There doing what in Missouri?! |
"Consumers consistently tell us that Cinco de Mayo
is a great way for them to reconnect with people they care about and
enjoy a few cervezas," said John Alvarado, vice president of marketing
for Corona beer, which is made by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Mexican 4th of July?
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| Chicano farm champion Cesar Chavez |
Often mistaken for Mexican Independence Day (September
16th), Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 Battle of Puebla.
That battle was between the
victorious ragtag army of largely Mexican-Indian soldiers against the
invading French forces of Napoleon III.
The day is barely observed in
Mexico, but was celebrated in California by Latinos and abolitionists
who linked the victory to the fight against slavery.
During the Chicano Movement of the 1970s, Mexican
Americans adopted Cinco de Mayo for its David vs. Goliath story line as
motivation in civil rights struggles. This year... More
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| Protesters line up in NYC, hoping for chance to BOO Trump, Dummy-in-Chief (AP) |
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| "Without immigrants there would be no America" [USA] (AP) |
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