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5 de Mayo – My Cup of Tea

My Cup of Tea

All Things Considered

5 de Mayo

Let me start by telling you that in the 32 years that I lived in Mexico City, and the year that I lived in France, I never celebrated 5 de Mayo . It is a holiday observed by schools, but I am pretty sure it is not mandatory for corporations or even government offices. It is not that important for us.

I have lived in Los Angeles five years now and, so far, I have attended 5 de Mayo parties almost every year, people congratulate me (wide-eyed emoji here) and this year there’s even going to be a celebration in my daughter’s preschool: they’re bringing a  taco truck and a mariachi band that will play all over the school (good luck with that).

I have been through many phases regarding this holiday:

    1. Arrogant phase: Ugh. If only these people knew that this holiday is so irrelevant to us.
    1. Angry phase: There’s no such thing as 5 d mayo! Taco shells? Really?
    1. Preachy phase: The most important national holiday is September 16th, you know, where we celebrate our independence from Spain. In the year of 1810, Miguel Hidalgo… Zzzz!
    1. Surrender phase: Sigh. I’ll bring a bottle of Mezcal…
  1. Acceptance phase: This is where I am now, keep reading…

I decided to find out more about why 5 de Mayo is important for Latin people living in the U.S. I learned that Californians have been celebrating it since the mid-1800s (!!) I am not going to get into details, you can read more about it if you click here. Bottom line is that I moved into acceptance when I understood that the 5 de Mayo which commemorates the Battle of Puebla and that it is a not-that-important holiday in Mexico, is different from the 5 de Mayo that people all over the U.S. celebrate nowadays. There are two separate holidays born from the same historical event. That’s it.

Now that I made peace with the idea of celebrating this holiday, I will post some authentic Mexican recipes* for your 5 de Mayo gather: Enchiladas Verdes, Pastel Azteca aka Vegetarian Enchilada, and Sangria.

♥

Marcela

* Except for the Sangria, but I think I deserve a free pass for that one, don’t you?

2 responses to “5 de Mayo”

  1. Bego Avatar
    Bego

    Me pasa identico!!! A Maximo si le conte que en México no es tan importante y toda la historia.
    Aqui Voy caminando en la escuela y me gritan desde el coche “happy 5 de mayo” una vez una mamá me dijo “happy 5 di mayo, oléé” y yo me preocupe!!!! Dije esta ya esta mas confundida que yo!! El olé no va!!!! Aunque si me invitas una sangria pues tambien digo olé! jajaja
    Ahh y tambien quiero enchiladas y pastel azteca.

  2. mycupoftea Avatar
    mycupoftea

    ¡Bego! Cómo me hiciste reír…
    Vente a comer.