While many holidays are celebrated and recognized in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is one of the few Latino-centric dates that has taken hold in American culture. However, Latinos at its founding might raise an eyebrow when they see what it has become.
Ads for discounted margaritas and tequila shots start popping up like tulips in April, and restaurants and bars display papel picado banners at their fronts.
There’s one group that’s looking to divert the holiday marketing away from the oversimplification of Latin culture.
GreenLatinos, a national nonprofit focusing on environmental issues in the Latino community, held a webinar on Wednesday to discuss the cultural significance of Cinco de Mayo in the Americas, and how to celebrate the holiday in a way that acknowledges the ongoing fight toward independence and decolonization.
Cinco de Mayo honors the historic victory of the battle between Mexican soldiers who fought back against French troops trying to conquer Puebla, Mexico. Pedro Hernandez, a public lands advocate for GreenLatinos, said the holiday is a portal for understanding some of the largest social movements in the Americas, and that it helps preserve Mexican Independence.
“I worked for the White House for a little bit, the government gave us, the Latino community, two special days, one is during Hispanic Heritage Month and the second is Cinco de Mayo,” said Mark Magaña, CEO, president and founder of GreenLatinos. “If that’s going to be our big Latino day, then we might as well get the message and the purpose right.”
Advocates for reclaiming Cinco de Mayo are not calling for an end to drinks and joyful celebrations, but they are asking for respect to be given to the holiday by adding culture and activism to its identity.
“Cinco de Mayo is very unique in the United States, even if it’s mistaken for what it’s actually about,” Hernandez said. “We’re tapping into our inheritance for exercising self determination for environmental, social and political liberation.”
While the significance of the holiday has faded over time and turned more into a day of partying and drinking, Magaña encouraged those who celebrate to not let go of their drinks but to consider the holiday a day of action.
Arturo Sandoval, the founding director of the Center of Southwest Culture, based in New Mexico, was part of the national organizing team for the first-ever Earth Day in 1970 in Washington. While Sandoval agreed that Cinco de Mayo celebrates the preservation of independence, the campaign to reclaim the holiday also points attention to rebellion and revolution and what can be accomplished by protesting.
“Anything that impacts the well-being of our communities also impacts the environment and the living things on the planet,” he said.
In 2017, May 5 was recognized as a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls in response to the murder of Hanna Harris on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and other abductions and killings of Native women in the United States. The Cinco de Mayo campaign organizers applauded this move as a way to help the movement be more inclusive and move away from nationalist ideologies often associated with Cinco de Mayo.
“This is a very strong reminder of how far we still have to go as we confront this legacy of colonialism and imperialism,” Hernandez said. “GreenLatinos expresses its solidarity with the effort for missing and murdered indigenous women and also recognizes the fact that in Latin America, environmentalists and activists are often the first people to be disappeared.”
With Cinco de Mayo approaching, Olivia Juarez drew a connection between the battle of Puebla and modern-day activism. GreenLatinos encourages those who are interested in reclaiming the holiday to sign the declaration and have conversations with those around them on the significance of Cinco de Mayo to acknowledge that it opens doors to other conversations of liberation today, whether its environmental, educational or cultural.
While that may seem overwhelming, she noted that the original victory was won by the underdogs.
“Be inspired by the battle of Puebla,” Juarez said. “Join in the state of action and use it as a hook for your fights for our environmental liberation, to get more support and more wind behind our sails, to protect each other and stop cultural appropriation.”