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Cinco De Mayo
Today is Cinco De Mayo and for the second year in a row, boy am I ever happy I moved out of the old neighborhood.
Cinco De Mayo in our old Polish-turned-Mexican neighborhood meant a driving hassle, with guys rolling around with a pair of 3' x 5' Mexican flags attached to their car and their buddy's hanging out the windows with flags of their own. It meant illegal fireworks at night, music blasting all day, and usually some act of stupidity somewhere when the alcohol started flowing.
Ah, on looking that over it sound much worse in print than it was in reality. No one ever bothered me or my family, and there are worse things than listening to songs that reminded me of the Polka's of my own heritage. Keep in mind, for 90% of the day and 99% of the participants it was always nothing more than a celebratory holiday.
But that rowdy 1% sure screwed it for everyone else, and the city cracked down hard in recent years. Good luck to you if you try that flag setup now, and the celebration has turned more commercial and Americanized, with restaurants scraping together Mexican dishes and Corona for Cinco De Mayo specials.
{You know, one thing I never understood about Cinco De Mayo was the fact that its a celebration, not of independence, but of a victory in battle. Fine and dandy, but it was a single victory in a war they went on to lose to the French.
Okay, sure, just like most holidays the origin is obscured by the celebration itself. After all, who celebrates Halloween and stops to ponder the religious significance, or questions the formation of the calendar on New Years Eve?
But to me it seems like an odd way to kick off a party. It's like Poland celebrating a hypothetical day they stopped the German advance in August of '39. Grand - but rather overshadowed by the defeat and occupation later in the month, no? }
Anywho, there are some things I miss about the old neighborhood. I miss our old landlord and our neighbors on either side. I miss the way the neighborhood seemed more like a family, albeit a mildly dysfunctional one, than the friendly but rather socially isolated area we live in now. I miss the El Rey grocery store with the kick ass Pico De Gallo and skirt steak, and I miss being able to latch onto the wireless signals from the nearby middle school. :)
I sure don't miss the street parking, the punks, the morons who stole my barbeque grill, or the occasional 'shots fired'.
But I'm still glad we had the chance to live and grow our family there for many years.
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
slapinions at 8:30:00 PM CDT Blog about this entry |
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"In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. "
Dan -
You say: "just like most holidays the origin is obscured by the celebration itself. After all, who celebrates Halloween and stops to ponder the religious significance."
It reminds me of the editorial a number of years ago - published in the *Wichita Eagle* - decrying the current "loss of Jesus" in Halloween... I always understood that Halloween, as opposed to All Hallows on Nov 1, was pretty much Christ-free by definition.
;^) Jan the Gryphon -
Yeah...I can't say I miss our old neighborhood like that. Not one stinkin' bit! I don't miss the late night fight clubs, shots fired or the drunken driven road course in the parking lot.
But I do like burritos and beer :)
~Bernadette -
I've lived in those kinds of neighborhoods. I do miss the neighboring that went on. That seems to be a lost art in most places. I now live in a cul-de-sac in an apt. complex and it is rather like a family. Everyone is friendly and we have block parties in the summer a few times. Happy Cinco to you too.
Joyce
5/6/08 1:49 PM
Jeanne