Before we get out the Coronas and Tequila, I'd like to share a brief history lesson and a few fun facts:
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army in 1862, at the battle of Puebla. Mexico's economy was hurting, so they borrowed a lot of money from a lot of countries. They settled their debt with the US during the Mexican-American War, but still owed money to France.
Well, they didn't like France. Mexico decided not to pay back their debts, which pissed the Frenchies off. France decided to name one of Napoleon's relatives, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, as Mexico's new ruler.
France invaded, and Mexico kicked their butt. So in essence, you're not only celebrating a Mexican victory, you're celebrating a French defeat.
 |
| I fart in your general direction! |
Oh well. Olé!
Fun Cinco de Mayo traditions around the globe include:
- An air guitar competition in the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean Islands.
- Mexican beer drinking competition in the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean.
- The Cinco de Mayo Culture Festival in Denver, Colorado includes exhibits of Mexican music, Spanish and Latin and Tex-Mex outdoor rock music concerts.
- Douglas Park in Chicago, Illinois organizes a festival, full of musical events, snack bars and cultural displays.
And drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.
So remember, as you drink your Dos Equis and do body-shots off that cute girl at the bar: Down with France! Kick your debt-collector's ass! And viva Mexico!!
I'll leave you with a little mariachi music, a la Pablo Francisco...
...si.
The funny thing is that the holiday isn't really widely celebrated in Mexico. To the rest of the world it has become a sort of Mexican appreciation day/excuse to get wasted.
ReplyDeletedrink plenty of snake oil guaranteed to prolong the inevitable
ReplyDeleteah... the picture about french got me... :D
ReplyDeleteHappy Cinco de Mayo... people don´t drink too mucho, hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Pablo Francisco clip, he´s so funny.
funny thing about today is, im going to eat indian food....lol
ReplyDeleteGod, I love the French Terror Alerts scale, but I see they're missing a level, "bitch slap."
ReplyDeletelol is this that pablo guy that sweats ridiculous amounts?
ReplyDeleteAhaha, celebrating the french defeat! AHAHA
ReplyDeleteAccurate representation of mariachi music and my reaction to it. :P
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgot it was Cinco De Mayo....hope there's some free food on campus..
ReplyDeleteI learn something new every day from you. Today the history of the French/Mexican beef and yesterday the history of the Mormon/Dinosaur beef. Muy Bueno
ReplyDeleteAh yes another excuse to get blasted
ReplyDeleteshit I know I used Cinco De Mayo to get so shitfaced that I actually piss blood colored beer ;)
ReplyDeleteLoving the french surrender picture haha.
ReplyDeleteMeh. I'm in France, so I'm not exactly in the mood for getting a Mexican butt-kicking. I will celebrate with kirs and Jurançon wine, though. ;-)
ReplyDelete-Barb the French Bean
Being a white washed mexican I have no idea what the title says. lol.
ReplyDeleteoh wait, they're songs! Derp! :p
ReplyDeleteCheck you out! Thanks for the lessons. I loved it. I celebrated by going to Zumba and shaking my ass to latin music like Shakira...sadly no drinking. :(
ReplyDeleteHappy cinco de mayo! cheers! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm drinking tequila right now! Happppeeee sink-o.... Hmmm, now where was I?
ReplyDeleteWe figure it's a great excuse to gorge ourselves with Mexican food! I posted an amazing recipe for chicken chimis. Come check it out.
ReplyDeleteSandy
www.twelvemakesadozen.blogspot.com
Well done! People don't even know why they're celebrating / drinking on some of the holidays. Cinco de Mayo could have been about people who killed 1,000 puppies, but no one would ever know because their focus is the next drink.
ReplyDelete