Mexican-Americans torn about Cinco de Mayo in Trump era

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Russell Contreras and Adriana Gomez Licon, Associated Press Updated 10:34 pm, Thursday, May 4, 2017


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — For years, Yazmin Irazoqui Ruiz saw Cinco de Mayo as a reason to eat tacos and listen to Mexican music.

The 25-year-old Mexican-born medical student left Mexico for the U.S. as a child and celebrates the day to honor a homeland she hardly remembers.

But the Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident said she's reluctant to take part in Cinco de Mayo festivities this year as President Donald Trump steps up federal immigration enforcement and supporters back his call for the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
 
"I mean, what is it about? You want to eat our food and listen to our music, but when we need you to defend us, where are you?" Irazoqui Ruiz asked about the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the country.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Cinco-de-Mayo-met-with-more-ambivalence-in-age-of-11121855.php#photo-12844696

[FakeNoose]

1. Trump wishes the Mexicans "Happy Cinco de Mayo"

... on YOUR SIDE of the wall.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. OMG

[ProudLib72]

2. It's really sad

He ruined Black History month. He ruined Passover. He is going to ruin Cinco de Mayo. What other marginalized people's holidays can he ruin?

[FakeNoose]

4. Mother's Day is next week

Let's see if he can find a way to ruin it for us.

Fun fact: I'm a mom too.

[ProudLib72]

5. Happy early Mother's Day!

Can't believe I didn't think of that one!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Memorial Day is coming up.

"This is nice, but I prefer soldiers who DIDN'T die in service to their country! Can we go golfing now?"

[riversedge]

6. k

[Hortensis]

8. If this woman doesn't celebrate Cinco de Mayo, that's

on HER head. Whatever the internal reasoning of those who feel like her, in real life abandoning this holiday, making it a failure, would be to surrender yet more ground to the GOP's white nationalists.

What I would like to see them do is turn out in massive numbers, proudly and confidently as citizens. If they don't like the commercial exploitation, they can reject it, take picnics to the parks, bring their own music, use today's anger to stand up for their culture and make this celebration what they want it to be.

Not this wimpy whiny surrender of what they should be leading.

[yardwork]

9. Cinco de Mayo is not a particularly important holiday in Mexico.

It's always been a fairly exploitative reason just to sell beer in the U.S.

[Hortensis]

10. Doesn't matter. The U.S. has Cinco de Mayo

and nothing else. And selecting a more meaningful reason to celebrate would not fix it. Which of our holidays is NOT exploited commercially? Thanks 100% to the participation of people, the ascension of Jesus bagged over $18 BILLION in sales of plastic eggs, etc., this year, a fair amount of that of course from Hispanic people. CdM's commercialization came with its success, and Hispanic spending is a big part of that.

The bigger problem is that they are a minority and the participation of a non-Hispanic multicultural majority is making them feel it's not theirs. Well, if they want to feel this or any other annual celebration that "takes off" is really theirs, they need to set the anxiety that naturally causes aside and grab hold of it.

Btw, while distress at commercialization probably is felt by most, anyone besides me suspect this understandable resentment over multicultural influences on the holiday is far stronger among Hispanic conservatives than Hispanic liberals? That's the way people bounce. Like the yammering on Fox every year over the "theft" of Christmas.