As Ohio University students and Athens residents mark Cinco de Mayo today, many might not realize what they are celebrating.
Many people think it's the day of independence
but it's not said Gabriela Castaneda, an Ohio University teaching assistant and second-year graduate student studying Spanish.
Mexico's Independence Day is actually celebrated on Sept. 16, and commemorates its freedom from Spain. Cinco de Mayo, or The Fifth of May remembers the day of a battle and unexpected victory against the French.
Cinco de Mayo is not widely celebrated throughout Mexico anymore, and the most festivities take place where the battle occurred in Puebla, Mexico, Castaneda said.
We have two different big celebrations (in Mexico): Independence Day and Revolution Day. I don't know why people use Cinco de Mayo
really
Castaneda said. Maybe it's just a good reason to drink Corona. And because the weather is beautiful.
Some people believe the origins of the holiday have been lost among the promotions and publicity that now accompanies it.
It has become a marketing vehicle to sell beer spirits and merchandise commercial enterprise
wrote Jeffrey Candelaria, vice president of membership and marketing at the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, in an e-mail.
Still, others think Cinco de Mayo has become a more important tradition in the United States as more people emigrate from Mexico.
More people come in from Mexico
and even when it's not the Mexican holiday really
they feel they can identify with it
said Nancy Sandler, one of the advisers of the Latino Student Union.
Although some students heading out for a fiesta tonight might not know their Mexican history, Sandler said the celebrations should continue.
I think to celebrate it is to inspire people to ask the question of what we are celebrating
she said.
