Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that's a big deal in the US and not in Mexico. It's not even the Mexican independence day. It celebrates a battle won in a war the Mexicans would like to forget (they lost their newly found independence to France and had to get it back.)

Like Kwaanza, Cinco de Mayo was built up by radicals in the 60s. They wanted something to celebrate their Mexicanness but Indepenence day in September was too close to Labor day and right after school started so people would be worried about other things. Therefore, they looked and found this obscure incident and built it up.

Frankly, I find the whole Mexican Independence story a truly sad and fiasco filled tale. The radical priest, Miguel Hidalgo, that first cried out for independence (father of his country?) was captured by the Spanish, tortured, made to recant and then executed. Do you think George Washington would be famous if he had done that?

The real liberator was actually a loyal royalist, Agustín de Iturbide, that first fought for the Spanish side, then wanted to settle things with the Mother Coutry and was later conviced that Independence was inevitable and if a royal European heir could be put in the throne of "The Mexican Empire" (which back then included most of the present southwest USA) his royalist feelingswouldn't be hurt.

No royal Europaen took the bait and so, Iturbide,was named the first "Mexican Emperor". That didn't last because his enemies conspired to accuse him of being a tyrant. Geezz! He was the Emperor! Incredibly, he decided that it would be best for the country if he went into exhile. Such naivete! In exhile, Iturbide came to his senses and saw that his enemies back in Mexico were not fixing anything but fighting amongst themselves. He decided to come back and fix things. A traitor alerted his enemies of Iturbide's landing and he was met by Santa Ana (of the Alamo fame) and executed on the spot. Do you think the liberator of the country should have been treated like that?

Intrestingly, Hernan Cortez is also dishonored in Mexico. They rather claim linkage to the Aztecs. Yeah right? A bloodthisrty, human-sacrificing, cannibalistic people that enslaved all of the other surrounding tribes. That's something to look back with pride!

Cinco de Mayo has me totally confused. I'm torn between my dislike of phony, multi-culti holidays and my love of mocking the French.