Cinco de Mayo

Today is the 5th of May, but it isn’t a day you should remember like the 5th of November. There was no gunpowder plot or treason to not be forgot*.

Instead, despite what many in the US think, it is the merest of victories over the French by Mexican forces at the Battle of Puebla. It is not Mexican independence day. That would be 16 September.

Hell, Cinco de Mayo isn’t even a national holiday in Mexico. It is only really celebrated in Puebla. And then it’s a minor celebration.

Why is Cinco de Mayo such a big thing in the US? The short answer is commercialism. The slightly longer answer is alcohol companies like Corona beer and Jose Cuervo saw parts of the ‘chicano’ identity movement in the late 60’s and 70’s as an exploitable thing for marketing. They were looking for a Mexican version of St. Patrick’s day and settled on Cinco de Mayo.

A series of ad campaigns in the early 80’s started the US infatuation with Cinco de Mayo. The Corona tag line drinko for Cinco was prominently featured in their ads. Unfortunately, those ads have become hard to find, mostly because they were extremely racially insensitive, so all you’re getting is a song by the Minutemen.

So, when that blue haired, septum pierced harpy comes at you for eating Mexican and drinking a Dos Equis, you are armed with the facts to defeat her.

Now go forth and enjoy the commercialized holiday that means very little in Mexico and a lot to the brewers and distillers of Mexican beers and spirits. And your local taqueria or food truck/roadside stand. Support those folks would ya. And Happy May 5th!

*Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason
    Should ever be forgot!
    Guy Fawkes and his companions
    Did the scheme contrive,
    To blow the King and Parliament
    All up alive.