Friday, May 05, 2006

Cinco de Mayo - ¡Viva México!

Today is a day to remember a major historical event - of Mexico's saga. As I said before, in my inaugural posting, San Antonio will party at the drop of a hat. Including a sombrero with "5 de mayo" on it!

Actually Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more ardently north of the border than south of it. Only in Puebla, east of the capital city, does this day get nearly as much notice as it does in these United States. (Keep reading & you'll find out why the attention in Puebla.) And PLEASE do NOT mistake Cinco de Mayo for Mexico's Independence Day! That one is Diez y Seis, that is, 16 September.

Cinco de Mayo remembers that on 5 May A.D. 1862, an outnumbered, under-trained & under-equipped Mexican militia army defeated the invading French army - one of the most advanced armies of that time - at the battle of Puebla. Thus, like Diez y Seis & like Día de la Raza (Columbus Day), it provides occasion for display of ethnic pride among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans or Chicanos.

And tejanos or Chicano residents of the Lone Star State, such as those of S.A.'s Westside barrio, can take added pride during Cinco de Mayo. You see, the underdog Mexicans' commanding general, Ignacio Zaragoza de Seguín, was born a Texan - in what was then called La Bahía in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas. Now General Zaragoza's birthplace is named "Goliad". S.A. being the nearest major city to Goliad, it's most appropriate for us here to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

So-o-o-o, ¡Viva México! ¡Viva Texas! ¡Viva Cinco de Mayo!

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