A Holiday of Import

The banners have been waving in virtually every public school in the Southland for weeks, bright colors and Mexican flags announcing Cinco de Mayo fiestas, carnivals and picnics.

It’s a long way from “Hasta con las piedras” (Even with stones), the battle cry heard May 5, 1862, when a bedraggled, outnumbered and out-armed group of Mexican soldiers joined forces with the civilian population of Puebla to defeat the attack of a handsomely equipped platoon of French invaders.

Although it took Mexico five more years to win the war against the French, the bravery displayed in Puebla went down in history as a source of heroic lore and pride for Mexicans.

But in Southern California, Cinco de Mayo long ago transcended ethnic and nationalistic lines. Never mind that in Mexico it is a minor holiday, something akin to the United States’ Flag Day, since Mexican Independence is celebrated Sept. 16. Here, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a massive scale surpassed by few, if any, other ethnic holidays. With Cinco falling on a Monday, this year’s celebration is extended into a weekendful of events.

The reasons for Cinco de Mayo’s unbridled success in Southern California are cause for speculation.

“There’s a lot of Mexican influence here, of course,” noted Cheryl Krupp, manager at the Swallow’s Inn in San Juan Capistrano. “But I just think it’s a good excuse to party, myself.” The folks at the Swallow’s need no excuse for a rip-roaring party under any circumstances; proceed with caution when they advertise a Cinco de Mayo bash.

On the stated agenda at the Swallow’s, for starters, are contests including tag-team beer chugging and one called “shoot and grito,” involving shots of tequila followed by a holler that Krupp described as “a Mexican yelp.” Perhaps the fact that winners are promised prizes dispels any concerns about chugging and/or yelping on a Monday.

Pio Ferro, programming director of KLVE, also believes that partying is the primary reason for the holiday’s popularity. KLVE and sister station KTNQ have sponsored Cinco de Mayo at El Monte’s Whittier Narrows Park for the last seven years (this year’s fiesta is Sunday). The noon-to-5 p.m. event has drawn more than 100,000 (don’t even think of arriving after noon), and revolves around performances by some of the station’s most-played artists, which this year include Puerto Rican heartthrob Ricky Martin and Spanish diva Rocio Durcal.

In contrast, KLAX’s Cinco de Mayo fest, Sunday at the Los Angeles Coliseum, is purely Mexican, featuring several banda groups and, the coup of coups: mega-popular band Bronco, playing its last concert in Los Angeles as part of its farewell tour. The concert is free, a deliberate concession to KLAX listeners. “It’s the most Mexican celebration, by the people, for the people,” programming director Juan Carlos Hidalgo says with dramatic flair.

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This Populist view of Cinco de Mayo has contributed to its success in the United States, according to historian William Estrada, curator at El Pueblo Monument in Los Angeles. Just as they did in Puebla, “many of the Mexicans who came here faced insurmountable odds,” Estrada says. “Cinco de Mayo is more about beating the odds than Mexican independence. It’s more a people’s victory.”

And it falls on a very convenient date. According to former Los Angeles Board of Education member Larry Gonzalez, Cinco de Mayo celebrations were created by the public schools.

“With the ‘60s coming in and Chicanos protesting that not enough culture and heritage was taught to kids . . . I think the school system wanted to recognize a Mexican celebration, and there was nothing else going on in the spring. . . . They didn’t give us an event, but they created the space for us,” Gonzalez says.

There is no doubt that Cinco de Mayo has become an institution. Not only is it marked in some way by just about every public and private school in Los Angeles and Orange County, but many municipal governments sponsor some kind of event in its honor.

The city of San Clemente’s Department of Parks and Recreation, for instance, stages a festival complete with mariachis, Aztec dancing, rodeo ropers, soccer relays, antique cars, food and an art contest Saturday at Max Berg Plaza Park.

Civic and business leaders in downtown Santa Ana, the heart of Orange County’s largest Mexican American population, downplay Cinco de Mayo in favor of Mother’s Day and Mexican Independence Day celebrations. But the county’s oldest radio station, KWIZ-AM (1480) takes up the slack in a big way with its ninth annual alcohol-free Cinco de Mayo celebration Saturday and Sunday at Centennial Park in Santa Ana. The event promises carnival rides, live entertainment and arts and crafts booths.

In Los Angeles, celebrations at historic Olvera Street date back to the 19th century, and today, the three-day Celebracion Cinco is a free family event that traditionally draws thousands.

South of downtown L.A., Maywood also sponsors a free three-day bash expected to attract about 200,000 people thanks to such hefty headliners as Barrio Boyzz, Guadalupe Pineda and Fey, who will perform courtesy of co-sponsor Radio Variedades, 97.5 FM.

To a lesser extent, Santa Monica is also staging a celebration, for its third year, at Virginia Avenue Park, and Beverly Hills is bringing in mariachis and Mexican food to its Farmers Market on Sunday.

The beauty of Cinco de Mayo is, after all, that despite its very patriotic roots, it appeals to all cultures, in the same way that one doesn’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. No wonder that even places that are not perceived to be Latino-based, such as the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda (which last weekend brought in folkloric troupe Xochipitzahuatl) and Universal CityWalk, also celebrate Cinco.

“CityWalk is a representation of Los Angeles, and this appears to be the type of event that connects to what CityWalk is,” says CityWalk senior vice president and general manager Larry Kurzweil. The two-day free family event begins Saturday.

An excuse to party? For many, that’s what Cinco stands for today, but does it matter? Eighteen years ago, Carlos Holguin, executive director of the Adams and Vermont Community Center in Los Angeles, decided to organize a Mexican independence parade in a district where Mexican celebrations were nonexistent. When he was unable to obtain the necessary permits in time for Sept. 16, he waited for May and celebrated Cinco de Mayo instead.

That scheduling fluke is responsible for a neighborhood-run event that brings together police, politicians and residents as well as cheerleaders, bands and drill teams from dozens of schools and a variety of backgrounds. In effect, it exemplifies everything Cinco de Mayo is: a historic celebration that brings together a variety of people who want to have good family fun.

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Where to Cinco Throughout the Weekend

Centennial Regional Park: Edinger Avenue and Fairview Street, Santa Ana, noon-8 p.m. Sat. and Sun.; KWIZ-AM-sponsored alcohol-free event with carnival rides, food booth and live entertainment; free; (714) 554-5000. Max Berg Plaza Park: 1100 Calle Puente, San Clemente, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.; mariachis, Aztec folkloric dancing, Mexican rodeo ropers, pinatas, soccer relays, antique cars and an art contest; free; (714) 361-8264.

Children’s Museum at La Habra: 301 S. Euclid St., noon Sat.; monthly storytelling festival offers East L.A.-native Olga Loya sharing legends and myths from Mexico and Latin America; performance, and family workshop that follows, free with museum admission ($4); (562) 905-9793.

Steamers Cafe: 138 W. Commonwealth, Fullerton, 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Sun.; concerts by Poncho Sanchez; $12; (714) 871-8800.

Swing for Kids at Pacific Golf Club: 200 Avenida La Pata, San Clemente, 5 p.m. Sun., Cinco de Mayo fiesta and silent auction to benefit the Community Services Program Youth Shelter in Laguna Beach; 9 a.m. Mon., 14th annual charity golf tournament. $50 for fiesta and auction only; $175 for tournament players (includes fiesta dinner and auction); (714) 250-0488.

Los Castillos Mexican Food and Sports Cantina: 15081 Beach Blvd., Westminster, 5 p.m. Mon.; live music by Trio Chapala; no cover; (714) 892-8347.

The Swallow’s Inn: 31786 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 6 p.m. Mon.; tag-team beer chugging and chili-eating contests, live music and more; free; (714) 493-3188.

OUTSIDE O. C.

Maywood Cinco de Mayo Street Fair: Slauson Avenue between Carmelita and Atlantic avenues, 4-11 p.m. Fri., noon-11 p.m. Sat.; noon-10 p.m. Sun.; music, wrestling, food, rides; free admission; (213) 251-1011.

Celebracion Cinco: Olvera Street, at the intersection of Cesar Chavez Avenue and Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sun.; children’s stage, folklorico music and dancing; free; (213) 239-6555.

Cinco de Mayo Parade: starts at 36th Street and Vermont Avenue, ends at Hoover Street and Vermont, 11 a.m. Sat.; free; (213) 737-5317.

Santa Monica: Cinco de Mayo Celebration at Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Ave., noon-6 p.m. Sat.; live music, folklorico dancing, food, games; free; (310) 458-8688.

Universal CityWalk Cinco de Mayo Family Festival: Universal City, noon-5 p.m. Sat. and Sun.; Los Comperos guitar troupe, folklorico dancing, mariachi, pinata; free; (818) 622-4455.

Los Angeles Coliseum: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.; Bronco, Ana Barbara and others; Disneyland characters; free admission, but tickets required (available from KLAX); (310) 203-0900.

Whittier Narrows Park: El Monte, noon-5 p.m. Sun.; mostly music, including Ricky Martin, Amanda Miguel; free; (818) 568-0902.