May 5th is Cinco de MAYO … the slideshow above features screenshots from an IG post my sister sent me from @landonfranklin which laid out so clearly, concisely and colorfully “Why Black America Should Always Celebrate Cinco de Mayo”. [Oh plus a pic or two from a Cinco de Mayo Mezcal & Tequila tasting i did once upon a time at The Old Stone House of Brooklyn as part of a Seasonal Sipping Series I’d launched. Plus a special margarita toast at Chela of Park Slope, cheers-ing to the significance of Cinco de Mayo indeed…]
Anyway, so my sister found and forwarded this informative post after a convo we had on an early May (2022?) episode of my radio show, “Savory & Sweet Food History & Culture”, where I’d shared on air (in conversation with her as a Cultural Correspondent ) some of this serious American history behind Cinco de Mayo I’d learned back in 2016 and felt compelled to share b/c I couldn’t believe it wasn’t more commonly known. Neither could she — so she set out to learn more herself and stumbled upon this helpful post which I share with you here today ⬇️...
[Check back to see / hear an uploaded video clip from the show of my sister and I discussing this important yet egregiously under-taught part of Mexican and American (and French!) history]
And this is a link to the first Cinco de Mayo post I ever made way back in 2016 after I ‘discovered’ this hidden history when I did some research on this unusual American / Mexican holiday …which has nothing to do with Mexican Independence (as in liberation and freedom from rule of Spain — celebrated since September 16th 1810) …but perhaps much more to do with freedom for Black America (i.e. emancipation at the end of the American Civil War circa 1865).
That first post was before I knew i wasn’t the only one who felt strongly that Black America (and the world) needed to know why it’s important to celebrate this misunderstood, American-celebrated Mexican-originated holiday. ‘Cause it’s ain’t like I or anybody I knew had ever been TAUGHT it anywhere before, nor saw or heard about it in any documentary movie, nor seen it in a book or magazine article… Nada.
PS. i don’t what it is with the historic French army and the date of May the 5th, but is it just a cosmic coincidence that he same date of May 5th in 1789 marked the beginning of the French Revolution? 🤔…which lead to the rise of the first in a series of French military-based leaders named Napoleon (Bonaparte)…
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May 5th is also:
• Chipotle Day (the smoked Mexican culinary peppers, not the FF chain) :
Above: Dried smoked chipotle peppers for sale in bins at the Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. The ones in the bowl on the pic to the right I bought at the Park Slope Food Coop. I’m grateful they’re more accessible an ingredient to secure than back in the day b/c chipotle peppers bring so much amazing flavor and spice to a range of foods. Most often across America it shows up as a main ingredient in “chipotle mayo” — which usually is NOT spicy at all, nonetheless I am very happy whenever and wherever fries are on a table and chipotle mayo is too. And these days the only red salsa i’m interested in eating anymore is a red chipotle salsa. I have a thing for smoke and spice. As do many ppl from culinary cultures where smoke and spice are prominent players. More on that maybe some other time (probably via my Patreon).
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• May 5th is also National Hoagie Day, but this blog post is already too long. Luckily there’s National “EAT A HOAGIE DAY” on September 14th, so stay tuned for that
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