How Are You Celebrating Cinco de Mayo?

Although Cinco de Mayo is arguably more of a U.S. fiesta than a Mexican affair -- (it is observed nationwide in the U.S., but only rarely outside of the city of Puebla, Mexico) -- that doesn’t stop Americans from drinking to all-things Mexican in honor of the 1862 Mexican defeat of the French at Puebla.

"Cinco de Mayo is a tradition dating from the Civil War," says Dr. David Hayes-Bautista, historian and professor of medicine and the director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"It's a party created by Latinos who supported freedom and opposed slavery, who supported racial equality, and opposed the rule of any government that excluded," he said.

Weather or not revelers and festival goers know about the history and origins of the holiday, major cities across the country will take part in cultural festivities and drink specials this weekend.

Perhaps at its ideal, celebrating the holiday is, as President Obama said earlier this week, an opportunity to “pay tribute to our shared heritage and our future partnership.”

It is the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo this year.

How are you celebrating this weekend?

CINCO DE MAYO EVENTS 2012:

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• Los Angeles, California

  Univision Radio L.A. is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with live mariachi music and dance at Los Angeles' own <a href="http://www.elpueblo.lacity.org/pdf/EventCalendar-May2012.pdf " target="_hplink">El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument</a>.

• Santa Ana, CA

  Drive south to Orange County for an all-day Cinco de Mayo Festival in Santa Ana's <a href="http://www.santa-ana.org/cda/documents/SACincodeMayo.pdf " target="_hplink">Historic Calle Cuatro Downtown</a>. In this picture, Mexica Ballet Folclorico performs during Cinco De Mayo festivities on May 5, 2011 at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Site on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

• San Antonio, Texas

  The city of San Antonio's <a href="http://www.sanantonio.gov/marketsquare/pdf/Market Square Events.pdf" target="_hplink">Historic Market Square</a> will host a three-day weekend event "filled with local entertainment, arts & crafts, children's activities, food & more."

• Miami, Florida

  Miami, Florida will see its first annual Cinco de Mayo <a href="http://brickellfestival.com/" target="_hplink">Brickell Festival</a>.

• New York

  The <a href="http://galoscorp.com/index.php?option=com_easycalendar&task=view&id=66&Itemid=36" target="_hplink">Cinco de Mayo Mexican Parade</a> is happening this Sunday on Central Park West, from 110th Street to 97th Streets. And New Jersey has a slew of parties, listed here by <a href="http://bloomfield.patch.com/articles/que-viva-cinco-de-mayo-2939b351" target="_hplink">Bloomfield Patch</a>.

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Comments

[Pleneras]

11:32 AM on 05/13/2012

PR's, DR's, Chlieans, Argentines, Uruguayans, etc... Do not celebrate 5 de Mayo.

[deluk]

02:50 AM on 05/06/2012

What's the point of celebrating the victory of the Spanish imperialists over the French imperialists?

[mira chancleta]

09:53 AM on 05/06/2012

...the point is that when you don't have much of a grasp of your REAL history, you will fall very easily for the FAKE history that some merchandising smugsters n Madison Avenue peddles for you to buy in celebration of the plastic and polyester "history they tell you is yours...Cinco de Mayo is a perfect example of the kind of "La Tino" clap-trap that is fed to these idiots and that they will consume for their rest of their manipulated lives...sad, little people with no clue

[TexiCali]

10:51 PM on 05/05/2012

I cooked some Mexican food and we raised our glasses of wine to salute our Latino friends. (Including the beautiful young Mexican lady who will be my son's bride this summer)

[Rob Paterson1]

10:31 PM on 05/05/2012

with a huge Mexican#1 dinner, and a dos equis to refresh it down.

[biscuitdave]

10:25 PM on 05/05/2012

Same as I do every year: commemorate the day of my birth. Kind of sucks, because Mexican restaurants are tough to get into on my birthday.

[flashpants]

10:08 PM on 05/05/2012

I teach at a tradeschool for a large trade union and many of my students are of Mexican descent. I put on a lunchtime barbeque for the class that was, admittedly, standard American fare. I did, however, emphasize the valuable contributions to the trade union as well as America as a whole that these individuals make. So all the white guys and all the black guys, plenty of Polish dudes as well as a couple of guys of Chinese descent all sat around breaking bread together. It may have been Cinco de Mayo but it was a great day for everyone.

[TexiCali]

10:48 PM on 05/05/2012

Thank you for that! You, sir, are a great teacher.

[John Crane]

09:42 PM on 05/05/2012

I'm not. For the US, it's just another made-up commercial holiday. An excuse to get drunk. Not unlike St. Patrick's Day. I'm not much for holidays in general, really.

[louiseknows]

09:25 PM on 05/05/2012

with a Margarita

[vrump]

08:33 PM on 05/05/2012

How do they celebrate the fourth of July in Mexico????

[louiseknows]

09:25 PM on 05/05/2012

who cares

[vrump]

07:43 PM on 05/06/2012

You missed the point..."They Don't !!"

[Enock Zamora]

06:44 PM on 05/05/2012

We celebrate Cinco De Mayo with the familia of all races and the younger one's are part of the parade. While the children take a bat to the piñata the adults hit the cerveza and the girls hit the vino but of course just one or two and it is all in fun. The BBQ is a religions event for all of us.

[mira chancleta]

09:59 AM on 05/06/2012

Yeah, the brainwash is most effective when it is started early.
You still have plenty a lot of time though to collect Kwanzaa Quiche recipes just like they were NEVER made in Uganda...but what does truth have to do with anything?

[Enock Zamora]

05:42 PM on 05/06/2012

'but what does truth have to do with anything?' It would be a waste of time to explain it to you mira chancleta.