Pax Nortona – A Blog by Joel Sax
From the Land of the Lost Blunderbuss
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Cinco de Mayo
Posted on May 5, 2003 in Festivals
We stuffed ourselves with a chili relleņo casserole last night — long anaheim chilis stuffed with jack cheese and buried under a custard of eggs, cheddar cheese, and diced jalepeņos. Not the real thing, I admit it, but it came close enough.
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday for all Americans, we feel in this household, because it marks the day when a poorly equipped and trained American army (Mexico’s) defeated an invading European Imperialist Force which had taken advantage of the U.S. Civil War to try a little territory grab. Mexico bravely held off the French/Austrian force until 1867. After the end of the American Civil War, the U.S. government sent its surplus weapons, uniforms, and medical supplies to assist the legitimate Mexican government. Many Union soldiers and officers also helped the Mexican cause. Defeated Confederates were lured by promises of land and slavery to fight on the side of the usurper Maxmillian, who tried to establish himself as an emperor in a free land. They lost again, as they deserved.
George Bush threw a big party for the Fifth of May last year. But this year, according to The Washington Post, nada. The Bush White House denies that this has anything to do with the fact that Vincente Fox wouldn’t join in the brazen disruption of international peace and the blatant violation of international law that is the War in Iraq, but only Republican loyalists buy that dead cow.
P.S. Chocolate is also of Mexican origin. It means “bitter water of the gods” in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. Try putting a little chili powder in your cocoa and drink to freedom from foreign invaders everywhere.
Some links:
- Cinco de Mayo becomes a holiday for all North Americans
- Get this site celebrating Cinco de Mayo under a huge seal saying “Remember the Alamo” — was the LA Times reviewer blind?
- History of Cinco de Mayo (UCLA)
- Alta Californians go to Olvera Street to celebrate.
- And for an anti-Cinco de Mayo view by a Latino, check out Gustavo Arellano’s “Gringo de Mayo”
