Cinco de May-be Not

 Growing up, I did not know what a quesadilla was. It just wasn't a thing in my Long Island of the 1970s.

From Sesame Street, I learned how to find the Salida (exit) and I practiced counting from uno to diez. From my family's travels, I knew how generous and inclusive children in Mexico could be. But I didn't know a quesadilla from a churro, or tamales from enchiladas.

And I certainly did not know the Cinco de Mayo. It wasn't a big thing in the Northeast...not yet.

In fact, it isn't a big thing in much of Mexico, now, either. It's a local festival in Puebla, not Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of a small Mexican army against a larger, well-armed French fleet. (In fact, shortly thereafter, Emperor Maximilian I of France took over our southern neighbors for a few years. The May fifth victory did not stick.)

Sesame Street used "Salida" and Spanish numbers as part of their mission to serve underserved urban youth.

US beer companies used Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to make money. Seriously-- the Mexican holiday became a reason to sell partying. It has since evolved into a well-deserved day to celebrate Mexican culture and to teach about it in the schools.

In fact, under the George W Bush regime, the US Congress made a concurrent resolution honoring the holiday and encouraging it as a celebration of Mexican heritage. This "DEI initiative", if you will, is lucrative for our nation, outpacing alcohol sales for St. Patrick's Day and on par with New Year's Eve and the Super Bowl.

I am glad that it promotes an awareness of our southern neighbors, but I wish that there were wider understanding of Mexico.

For example, the country is filled with World Heritage sights-- old colonial towns, ancient ruins, natural parks. I loved driving through the Sonoran Desert and feeling like it was a forest of cacti, and then seeing the El Popo volcano in the distance from the D.F. I love the Museo Nacional de Antropologia with its giant Sun Stone and beautiful Olmec Heads. I love the music and dance of the Ballet Folklorico and the busy colors of the artesan markets.

Another detail we don't teach: the food in Mexico isn't just the Tex-Mex that is more popular throughout the United States. One of my favorites is the cactus which tastes like green beans: nopales. Or, walking through Chapultepec Park, the lush sweet fruits are just so much fresher than anything you can get at a supermarket here.

I haven't been to Puebla; the Mexico I know is not the area of the Cinco de Mayo. I'm not a Cancun vacationer; my Mexico is the people I've met when traveling with my family. The places I've visited include driving south from Texas to Guadalajara, Queretaro, the DF, Taxco, and visiting my Tía in Cuernavaca. (Luckily, she's in Florida now!)

There's so much more to Mexico than what I've experienced. There's so much more to celebrate than one day that honors one short-lived victory of one small region. There's so much more to understanding diversity than learning about one neighboring country.

But it's a start.

Here's another step: look into Mexico's president right now. President Sheinbaum is currently holding her own against all the pressure from our Hispanophobic leaders. She has said things lately like "“Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.” She is willing to work with the global community, but she proclaims "“coordination, yes; submission, never." And she is creating legislation to combat foreign propaganda.

Specifically, it is our propaganda that poses a threat. Not just to Mexico, but to other nations. Not just to other nations, but to us here in the states.

We need to dig deeper than the headlines. We need to delve deeper than lessons from courses studied years ago. We need to look beyond the party element of holidays to learn about the depths of humanity everywhere.

Above all, we need to look past the criticism of DEI and understand that we are part of a diverse world and we need to create an equitable and inclusive one. The first step is learning about ourselves and one another.