Most of my young life I thought May 5 was Mexican Independence Day. I’m not sure why. I have no memory of learning anything about the holiday in elementary school, junior high or high school. In those days, our history lessons focused on American history rather than world history. Furthermore, I figured it was Mexico’s version of our July 4, because the only difference I noticed at Cinco de Mayo celebrations at parks and other public places was that the colors used for those decorations were red, white and green instead of our 4th of July’s traditional red, white and blue.
I learned to love Mexican food at a young age. Once a month or so, folks would take me out to enjoy some authentic tacos at Ashley’s down on 4th Street, or to Cinco de Mayo on the west side of Long Beach on PCH. I learned to love the culture while taking Spanish classes in grades 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. I can still remember quite a bit from those classes and even a few words uttered by Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy. In one episode, Lucy was pulling some kind of scheme on Ricky and needed him to tell a lady on the phone that the check the woman was given would clear the bank. Ricky, thinking he was teaching Spanish to lady friend of his wife’s on the other end of the line, and not knowing what Lucy was up to, told the woman on the phone that indeed, “El cheque esta bueno.”
While in junior college, I finally got the scoop and learned that May 5 is a special day for Mexican people because it commemorates the Mexican Army’s defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla, which took place on May 5, 1862. No, I didn’t memorize that information, but looking it up to share with you folks, I found details regarding Cinco de Mayo that rang a bell. See, Mom. I did pay attention in school.
The best website I found for details of the Battle of Puebla is timeanddate.com. Under their category of holidays/us/cinco-de-mayo, I found a lot of information that I will enjoy sharing with my friends tonight over margaritas, chips and salsa, tacos and a whole lot of Steve’s favorite drink, horchata (sweet Mexican rice milk made with cinnamon).
For those of you who would rather create your own Cinco de Mayo fare, check out the website pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/cinco-de-mayo-recipes/. There you’ll discover not only some yummy and easy-to-prepare Mexican dishes, but historical details surrounding the holiday as well.
