Straight From The Fox Hole 5/4/12
CINCO DE MAYO IS THE NEW ST. PATRICK’S DAY. Don’t believe me? Just look around tomorrow night at any TGI Friday’s, Chili’s, or chain restaurant littering the strip malls of America. You’ll find people wearing a sombrero, scarfing down bad burritos, doing tequila shots, drinking Mexican beer, and pretending to speak Spanish. Hey, you may be one of them! But do you know what you’re actually celebrating?
Here are 5 Things You Should Know About Cinco De Mayo…
1. Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexican Independence Day. When I first moved to Fresno, CA, I was under the impression all the drinking, dancing, drinking, food, fireworks, and drinking was marking Mexican freedom from Spain. I soon found out that Mexican Independence Day is actually celebrated on September 16. A federal holiday, Mexicans celebrate the day with parades, ringing church bells and fiestas. So, basically, Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with that.
2. Cinco de Mayo commemorates a victory over France. So what’s all the celebrating really about? Well, Mexico owed money to a number of European countries, and in 1861 they stopped paying. So France…whose army hadn’t been defeated in 50 years…decided they would force them to pay and take the country over while they were at it. However, on May 5, 1862, near the city of Puebla…Mexicans armed with pitchforks and limited weaponry defeated the very well armed French military, and won The Battle of Puebla. However, a year later the French came back and this time they won.
3. Cinco de Mayo is more popular in the U.S. than in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo isn’t even a national holiday in Mexico. It’s more of a regional thing that’s celebrated primarily in and around Puebla. It first gained popularity here during the 1950s and 1960s when the U.S. government implemented the Good Neighbor program designed to reach out to neighboring countries. Mexican-Americans embraced the holiday as a chance to celebrate their heritage.
4. They love Cinco de Mayo in Malta. Yes, Malta…that tiny island nation in the Mediterranean Sea. Now it’s just a guess, but I’m willing to bet you’d be hard pressed to find even one Mexican on Malta. So why is it such a big deal there? One reason: Corona Extra, la cerveza mas fina. They started exporting Corona to the U.S. in 1979, and saw a golden marketing opportunity 
celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Corona is now sold in over 150 countries.
5. Chandler, AZ celebrates by racing chihuahua’s. Why? It’s more like why not? Did I mention there’s a lot of drinking on Cinco de Mayo? They even crown a Chihuahua King and Queen in Chandler.
Now there’s something you won’t see at Chili’s tomorrow night!
I HATE TO SAY I TOLD YOU SO…but I did! If you read yesterday’s blog post and watched American Idol last night, then you know what I’m talking about.
I HATE BEING RIGHT ABOUT THIS PICK. I think Skylar is really talented and has potential to be a BIG Country star if they market her properly and she plays it smart. She sure has a great attitude.
THERE”S ONE HUGE MOVIE BEING RELEASED TODAY…
THE AVENGERS. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow answer the call to action when Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., initiates a daring, globe-spanning recruitment effort to assemble The Avengers team to defeat an unexpected enemy threatening global safety and security. Despite pulling together the ultimate dream team, Nick Fury and longtime confidant Agent Coulson must find a way to convince the Super Heroes to work with, not against each other, when the powerful and dangerous Loki gains access to the Cosmic Cube and its unlimited power.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-if violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.
I USUALLY HATE THIS TYPE OF MOVIE. Yeah I know…I know…how can I hate comic book Super Heroes? To be perfectly honest, I never really read comic books as a kid. And while some kids lived for the Super Friends, Superman, or Spider Man cartoons…they never did much for me. I was more Scooby Doo!
With that said…I really want to go see this movie, if for no other reason than it has an awesome cast. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo,
Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the bad-ass Samuel L. Jackson.
Now I just hope my kids want to go too so I don’t look like a creeper going to see it by myself!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. And please go “like” my Facebook page (or tell a friend if you already have)…and follow me on Twitter.