Cinco de Mayo a Celebration of Heritage

For young Mexican-Americans in Southern California, Cinco de Mayo is not so much a commemoration of a historic Mexican battle as it is a time to celebrate and become better aware of their heritage.

“The whole purpose of having celebrations like Cinco de Mayo is to be able to say: ‘We’re Chicanos, we’re Mexican-Americans and we’re also Americans,’ ” said Brenda Valdez, a Cal State Los Angeles junior and member of the Chicano student group MEChA. “It’s important to say: ‘This is who I am and I’m proud of who I am.’ ”

Although May 5 is widely celebrated with music, dancing and parties at civic sites and parks throughout Southern California, the holiday’s origins are often confused.

“Most of my friends that aren’t Mexican think it’s (Mexico’s) independence day,” said Angel Melendez, a 19-year-old Cal State L.A. student.

Actually, Sept. 16 is Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo goes back to May 5, 1862, when a small group of Mexicans routed 7,500 French troops in the town of Puebla. Although the French later swept over Mexico and dominated the nation for five years, the Mexicans’ surprising victory symbolized the determination to fight against foreign intervention.

Cinco de Mayo should be a time to “reflect on what our ancestors went through,” said Melendez, whose parents both immigrated from Mexico. “We’ve got to remember what they went through and never forget.”

Young people should see the victory as a source of pride, said associate dean Daniel Castro, head of student activities at East Los Angeles College. “The students here are striving hard to bring Cinco de Mayo back into focus,” said Castro.

For many Los Angeles schoolchildren, Cinco de Mayo means contests, folkloric dancing, tamales and stories of Mexican heroes and heroines.

At Humphreys Avenue Elementary School in East Los Angeles, festivities begin weeks before the holiday. With the help of their teachers, children recite poems, write essays and play traditional music.

“My favorite part is singing,” said Jesus Carrasco, a Humphreys sixth-grader who is a member of a mariachi group.

Alejandra Velasquez, 11, said she enjoys seeing dances from different parts of Mexico and eating lots of enchiladas. “Cinco de Mayo is like Thanksgiving at my house--except we have Mexican food instead of turkey,” she said, laughing.

Some Mexican-American teen-agers see the holiday as a chance to dig into their cultural roots.

“When people don’t know their own history, they pick up some other history that doesn’t belong to them,” said Mariana Mendoza, a senior at Jefferson High School in South-Central Los Angeles. “They don’t feel good about their own background--they just feel different.”

Other teen-agers voice similar sentiments. “I’m very proud to be Mexican,” said Consuelo Monreal, a member of Garfield High’s Mariachi Los Alanos. “Cinco de Mayo brings out the spirit that we already feel about Mexico. We just want to express it to people.”