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Good Eats for Cinco De Mayo – Kate’s Escapades

May 5th, 2011 | 2 Comments

Happy Cinco De Mayo, y’all! It’s a big ole’ holiday today, and I’m sure you’re about to get your fiesta on, which I’m positive will include some Mexican hat dancing, a big gaudy sombrero (unless, of course, you break out that Derby hat early as a warm -up for the big race on Saturday) AND some yummy Mexican food.

But first there is something you should really know about today, the 5th of May. So, raise your hand if you thought we were celebrating the Mexican Independence Day today. Don’t be ashamed, so did I. Really, we’re celebrating Mexico’s win over France in a two hour battle which took place almost 150 years ago in Puebla, Mexico. As long as we’re on a roll here, you should probably also know that Cinco De Mayo in not exactly a big holiday in Mexico, unless you are in the state of Puebla, or possibly in a state of drunken confusion.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the day in 1862 when the Mexican army fought back and defeated the French army in a David-and-Goliath-like battle…For Mexican-Americans, who make up 10 percent of the nation’s population, Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that stokes national pride.

Many Americans mistakenly believe the holiday is Mexico’s Independence Day. Actually, that falls on Sept. 16, when Mexico pays homage to Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, a Catholic priest who tolled his church bell in 1810 to proclaim the country’s freedom from Spain. Unlike Mexico’s Independence event, May 5 is not a big deal south of the border, save for the state of Puebla, where festivals and parades are common. ~Seattle Times