Cinco de Mayo is a widely celebrated holiday in the United States, known for all-day Happy Hours and guac and chips - but what does it celebrate? Really? For our third general meeting of Spring Quarter, we led a discussion around our previous exposure to the holiday as well as tried to unpack the real history of Cinco de Mayo.
A Reminder about Mental Health Awareness Month - A Message from COMS Club President Shelby
Various cultures regard the mind and experience humanity in different ways. Our brain is a muscle itself but sometimes we give too much power to it… or not enough power at all. Our brains like any other muscle must be developed (like working out), cared for, and our minds also need to know when to relax as today’s society is very high stress and rushed. Mental health can affect anyone and everyone—no matter what your circumstances are. Considering the intersections of your gender, your sexuality, your ability, socio economic status. Mental health is everything and for everyone.
Please check out https://www.instagram.com/p/COVMjuZHP8e/ for more widespread resources. If you are ever feeling overwhelmed, perpetually alone, or want to give up on everything; before you do, send us a message and feel free to contact COMS Club if that feels right to you. Our mind is our own temple if we can make it so, so take care and find ways to make yourself truly smile day. Try something new each day if you can. You are loved!
Cinco de Mayo or Cinco de "Drinko"?
We started our meeting with the question: What did you grow up learning/doing on Cinco de Mayo?
Our group of attendees responded with a variety of answers, from their exposure to the holiday through Spanish classes that actually covered the history of Cinco de Mayo to members who barely knew of the holiday. From the answers, we found that many of us had a vague understanding of Cinco de Mayo, specifically the connection of the holiday's (assumed) Mexican roots to the United States.
Some of the things that came to the members minds when thinking about Cinco de Mayo were:
Eating Mexican food
Drinking Tequila and alcohol in celebration
Participating in Mexican cultural activities (especially during K-12)
Vague ideas about the fact the event did not celebrate Mexican Independence Day
What is Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the Mexican victory against the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War!
Learn more about the story of Cinco de Mayo and the Battle of Puebla in this video:
"The Real Story Of Cinco De Mayo" Insider Studios and Tequila Cazadores
So, how does that relate to the intensity of Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the US?
The history of Cinco de Mayo in the US comes from Chicano/a activists in the 1950s and 60s in an effort to celebrate Mexican culture and history abroad!
Hear more about this in this video:
"The Real History of Cinco de Mayo" Lifehacker
In Reflection: Cultural appropriation vs. appreciation
So after watching all that, our group came back and discussed our thoughts about the videos and the narrative of Cinco de Mayo in our lives and previous experiences.
We reflected that so much of what we understand about Cinco de Mayo is about the highly consumer-focused, capitalistic traditions of the holiday (such as spending money drinking) and reinforcing stereotypical facets of Mexican culture (such as wearing sombreros and eating avocados). These "traditions" of Cinco de Mayo veer in the territory of cultural appropriation, the taking and claiming of cultures other than one's own with the express intent to capitalize, take credit, and reinforce surface-level/aesthetic elements of a culture as definitive of the culture.
None of us really knew the foundations of Cinco de Mayo as stemming from the work of activists, and it brought to light how the work of how the current message of Cinco de Mayo has been stripped from its original message.
We left with this week's meeting with new or refreshed knowledge about Cinco de Mayo and with ideas of how to appreciate Mexican culture rather than appropriate the culture and holiday.
Thank you to all our members who stopped by to learn something and to share in our discussion! Our next general meeting will be on Wednesday, May 19th. We'll be having out Meeting 4: Mentor/Mentee Game Social! We are inviting our Mentorship Program cohort as well as ALL interested members to join us to hang out and play a game.
The Cal Poly SLO COMS Club is the official Communication Studies club for Cal Poly SLO. We celebrate communication studies, supporting mentorship and professional development for the Cal Poly COMS community. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at calpolyslocomsclub@gmail.com.