Hoy es lunes, el cinco de mayo. I don't state this as merely an exercise in beginning Spanish (meaning "Today is Monday, 5 May."). You see, dear reader, it's also Cinco de Mayo (notice the caps), a Mexican holiday that's actually celebrated more north of the border!
Much Cinco de Mayo activity in San Antonio is centered in el Mercado. And I did pass thru Market Square briefly Sunday afternoon, just to scope out the celebration. A couple of stages were featuring live musical performances, and some food booths were set up. But it wasn't nearly as busy or crowded as it was during the ten days of Fiestalast month. Thank goodness! While I was there at el Mercado I chose to take advantage of free admission (for the holiday?) to el Museo Alameda, and viewed a couple of new exhibits in this still fairly-new museum (an affiliate of the great Smithsonian).
The Westside also has a share of Cinco de Mayo observations. And so late in the afternoon I returned to the Westside, to Guadalupe Theater, for the final of a series of concerts presented around town for Cinco de Mayo by the San Antonio Symphony. These talented professional musicians presented several pieces, mostly Mexican, but also one from Spain. And the program was augmented by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center's dancers. They danced traditional Mexican dances to acouple of the numbers, and a Spanish flamenco to another. And the student mariachi group of the GCAC also performed in the middle of the show's schedule! They did four numbers (all new to me, but all performed just fine): Bonito, Tú Solo Tú, El Rey, and Sergio el Bailador.
This entire Cinco de Mayo show was wonderful! In the midst of my great delight of listening to these live performances I couldn't help but think again of the words of that David Lee Garza Band song "Who's that Gringo?": "I may be white on the outside, but in my heart I know I'm refried!"
And don't you know! As I left the Guadalupe Theater after the symphony's Cinco de Mayo concert I ran into an old acquaintance who like me is "white on the outside, but in her heart she's refried". This is Patti Radle, former City Council member, who represented District 5, which basically is the Westside. Indeed, she and her husband live just a few blocks south of my church. When she first ran for the Council position many predicted a decidedly Anglo woman couldn't win in the heavily Hispanic district. But they also said that Art Hall, and Afro-American, could not win in District 8 of the heavily Anglo far north Loopland! And both Patti and Art not only won initial election but also re-election!
San Antonio citizens display more "color-blindness" than they're given credit by conventional wisdom!
Monday, May 05, 2008
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