Immigration Sweep Fears Spark Cancellation of Virginia Cinco de Mayo Festival

[arwensun1965 0]

The 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.

The French had landed in Mexico (along with Spanish and English troops) five months earlier on the pretext of collecting Mexican debts from the newly elected government of democratic President (and Indian) Benito Juarez. The English and Spanish quickly made deals and left. The French, however, had different ideas.

Under Emperor Napoleon III, who detested the United States, the French came to stay. They brought a Hapsburg prince with them to rule the new Mexican empire. His name was Maximilian; his wife, Carolota. Napoleon's French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.

The French Army left the port of Vera Cruz to attack Mexico City to the west, as the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy -- as European countries traditionally did.

Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans awaited. Brightly dressed French Dragoons led the enemy columns. The Mexican Army was less stylish.

General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a most stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to butcher them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians armed only with machetes.

When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz' superb horsemen miles away. The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War.

Union forces were then rushed to the Texas/Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico, City.

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows?

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America.

Mexicans, you see, never forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That's why Cinco de Mayo is such a party -- A party that celebrates freedom and liberty. There are two ideals which Mexicans and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect, ever since the 5th of May, 1862. VIVA! el CINCO DE MAYO!!

Well thats my history lesson learnt today.

[Fandango 1,439]

Hey, I'm just fwding on what I learned in that 'ask a Mexican' thread here

[pedroh 21]

in Mexico it's both, gringo or gabacho.. but gringa is also a 2 flour tortilla quesadilla with steak..

[eric&gen 0]

And i thought Cinco de Mayo was just a drinking holiday lol.

[athena_ny 1]

Hey, I'm just fwding on what I learned in that 'ask a Mexican' thread here

Yeah, but Mexico is its own country. With a very distinct dialect, very different slang than somewhere like Peru or Argentina. If you're familiar at all with dialects, you can spot a Mexican Spanish speaker very quickly. (When they are from Ciudad de Mexico or grew up here it's more difficult, though.) There are words they use that my husband and his friends don't even know the real meaning of (like the infamous "oraleeeee") and if you call them ese, prepare for a smack down. I think the dialects when you get farther out from Ciudad de Mexico has a lot to do with a varied stress pattern, but I haven't gotten that far

I was told by a Cuban/Puerto Rican ex-coworker that where he's from, 'ahorita' means later, but in Peru, Venezuela, etc it means 'right now.' In Cuba, bicho means #######, in Peru? Bug. Then there's some of the Cubans/Spanish speakers from various Caribbean countries who transpose their /r/ and /l/ so 'alma' becomes 'arma' and vice versa. Makes it incredibly hard if you aren't familiar with it.

Then again, I've been studying this stuff for far too long.

[sereia 0]

i've been called a gringa by many a mexican coworker. *shrug* and mamacita, and other dirty slang i won't write here. lol

Edited May 5, 2007 by abdounjen

[no name 1]

History lesson learned, I shall drink a margarita or 3 now to celebrate!

[pedroh 21]

woooow cinco de mayoo, fiesta, tequila!! arriba arriba!!..

LOL..

enjoy..

[homesick_american 1]

If they're illegal, they should be living with some sort of fear of being deported.....

Yep! Am I supposed to feel sorry for them because they can't go to a party when they've been breaking the law? B-O-O-H-O-O!

[pedroh 21]

If they're illegal, they should be living with some sort of fear of being deported.....

Yep! Am I supposed to feel sorry for them because they can't go to a party when they've been breaking the law? B-O-O-H-O-O!

hey not everybody who goes to those festivals are illegals.. i know u think all mexicans are illegals in the US.. but geeze..

[Scott & Lai 12]

If they're illegal, they should be living with some sort of fear of being deported.....

Yep! Am I supposed to feel sorry for them because they can't go to a party when they've been breaking the law? B-O-O-H-O-O!

hey not everybody who goes to those festivals are illegals.. i know u think all mexicans are illegals in the US.. but geeze..

Who said they were?

[homesick_american 1]

If they're illegal, they should be living with some sort of fear of being deported.....

Yep! Am I supposed to feel sorry for them because they can't go to a party when they've been breaking the law? B-O-O-H-O-O!

hey not everybody who goes to those festivals are illegals.. i know u think all mexicans are illegals in the US.. but geeze..

Yes, I'm aware of that pedroh. I'm talking about illegals only here. What do I care if they have to stay home? They're breaking the law, and now they're afraid of getting caught. Boo hoo, no sympathy.

[slim 1,514]

Thanks for that story jasman.

Ironic that it was the French that helped us defeat the British, then it was the Mexicans that helped us beat the Confederates by stopping the same French that had just helped us about 75 years before. Either way, Viva el Cinco de Mayo!