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Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas

Today is May 5.  If you speak Spanish, it’s el cinco de mayo. If you’re a party animal looking for an excuse to overdo tequila, Corona beer and homogenized versions of Mexican dishes, then today is Cinco de Mayo, dude!

(President Obama tried to be cool by telling the media he was celebrating the day early yesterday when he called it “Cinco de Cuatro,” which means “fifth of fourth.” He meant to say “Cuatro de Mayo,” or “May 4th,” instead. Obviously, Spanish wasn’t the President’s foreign language in high school!)

Since St. Patrick’s Day and Mardi Gras, there hasn’t been a good justification for being drunk and obnoxious in public. Cinco de Mayo fills the gap between the day before Ash Wednesday and the inevitable overimbibing of Memorial Day cookouts. It’s a sure bet that 99.9 percent of those who will have hangovers tomorrow won’t know why they were partying in the first place.

As holidays in Mexico go, Cinco de Mayo is small potatoes. It’s not even a federal holiday there. Mexicans do more celebrating on Independence Day (September 16) and on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12) than on this historical footnote of a day. Mexicans have a Constitution Day, a Labor Day, a Revolution Day and the birthday of liberator Benito Juarez to take pride in their nation’s history. 

How the celebration of the Battle of Puebla on May 5 became a day to drink Mexican beer has more to do with the United States than with Mexico:

In 1862, [the] Mexican army faced the French troops and defeated them. In memory of this victory, a spectacular parade is organized in the city, during which the battle is reenacted.

That’s it. Cinco de Mayo commemorates a battle in Mexico’s history during its colonial days. If Mexico were to celebrate the Battle of Gettysburg as a symbol of American pride instead of the Fourth of July, we would find it pretty silly, but here we are creating hoopla for the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, which is celebrated in the region of Puebla and in the United States.

Cinco de Mayo has become a party day and a celebration of Mexican culture in the United States. As long as we know why we’re marking the day, that’s fine. It’s not a day for Mexicans in their native land and it’s not much more than a tequila day for those who like to get drunk and stupid.

On December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, congratulate your friends of Mexican origin. The Patroness of the Americas appeared to a devout Indian named Juan Diego and Catholicism took root in the new continent after Our Lady chose Mexico as its fertile soil. That is something every American of Mexican origin can point to with pride.

Instead of getting drunk on a day of war, let’s be prayerful on a day of miracles. Make “Doce de Diciembre” (December 12) your new Cinco de Mayo.