What is this and why do we celebrate it?
First we should identify what it is not.
It is not the Mexican day of Independence (which is September 16th).
What it is:
This date corresponds with the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862, the day the Mexicans defeated the occupying French. Basically, what was going on is, after having been under Spanish rule for over 3 centuries, which is basically the equivalent to having lived under the rule of the Obama administration for 300 years (yup, I went there ;)). Then the French come in and try to take over. The French. The same country that effectively became the international surrender punchline for the next 150 years, and counting. The Mexicans by winning this battle effectively said, "Ya know, we can mismanage our country just fine on our own." So they served up a nice big helping of "Get out of our country."
Now, you would think the Mexicans would be the ones to set up this date as their own special holiday because of the victory, but you would be wrong. In fact, it was started by Mexican-Americans living in the Western United States during the Civil War as a way to promote freedom and democracy. Then of course the Mexicans adopted it, but it truly isn't celebrated as much as in the United States, even though most people, now-a-days, have no idea why.
So, here is the discussion part of this. Do you celebrate it, and if so, why?
First we should identify what it is not.
It is not the Mexican day of Independence (which is September 16th).
What it is:
This date corresponds with the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862, the day the Mexicans defeated the occupying French. Basically, what was going on is, after having been under Spanish rule for over 3 centuries, which is basically the equivalent to having lived under the rule of the Obama administration for 300 years (yup, I went there ;)). Then the French come in and try to take over. The French. The same country that effectively became the international surrender punchline for the next 150 years, and counting. The Mexicans by winning this battle effectively said, "Ya know, we can mismanage our country just fine on our own." So they served up a nice big helping of "Get out of our country."
Now, you would think the Mexicans would be the ones to set up this date as their own special holiday because of the victory, but you would be wrong. In fact, it was started by Mexican-Americans living in the Western United States during the Civil War as a way to promote freedom and democracy. Then of course the Mexicans adopted it, but it truly isn't celebrated as much as in the United States, even though most people, now-a-days, have no idea why.
So, here is the discussion part of this. Do you celebrate it, and if so, why?
It was only for Coke Classic. How do you say "discrimination" in Spanish?
