The historical significance of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza’s severely outnumbered soldiers defeating Napoleon’s French soldiers in the Battle of Puebla might be irrelevant to some people. Even so, the sprightly spirit of that inconceivable victory lives on 147 years later. While May 5 isn’t even a federally recognized holiday in Mexico, leave it to revelers to ensure enough José Cuervo is consumed on that date.
Three quick steps to get in the Cinco de Mayo mood if you aren’t already:
1) Turn off the computer
2) Let go of that embarrassing tequila-instigated memory
3) Listen to Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” two to three times.
This isn't Richie but the song is still worth listening to.
5 comments:
Viva La Patron!
Hmmm, I don't really need to be reminded of "La Bamba". Several years ago a whole bunch of us were on vacation in Cancun. (Ok, it was a Shrine related trip, so we may have actually indulged in a tequila or three.)
Several of us went on a dinner cruise to Isla Muheres. (OK, OK, so it turned into a booze cruise, but we DID NOT know that when we signed up for it before leaving the states.) Anyway, we enjoyed watching (mostly) the Conga lines on the boat and the singing and dancing and carrying on. Then when we got to Isla Muheres, we did, in fact, have a very nice buffet dinner.
This was followed by a really nice program of fok song and dance. Oh yes, there was occasionally some non-voluntary audience participation. I was sitting on a stool. watching the show and minding my own business, when one of the locals tapped me onthe shoulder and said, "Come with me." Of course, we ended up on stage for some sort of a competition. Well, it turned intoa singing contest. The song that I was assigned was, you guessed it, La Bamba.
Well, as you probably know, La Bamba is in Spanish. And I can tell you, tha twhile I know a few critical phrases in Spanish, I have a better chance of speaking Japanese, and that ain't all that good. And even though I knew the song (as in recognized it and liked it), I certainly didn't knwo thw words, except for the La La La La Bamba part. So I had to do a great deal of faking it, strutting around the stage like a rock star and holding the microphone out to the audience for help.
Needless to say, I did NOT win the contest. But it did get recorded on the video recording of the evening. And of course, several folks in the party, including my wife, thought it necessary to actually BUY the video. Luckily, one of the two known copies in Cedar Rapids was washed away in the floods of 2008. And I think (hope) the other is lost somewhere in my house.
Love that movie Happy Cinco de Mayo !!
Happy Cinco de Mayo and congrats on Blog of Note! You take some very nice photos, love the shadow series!
Here in Houston, Texas, Cinco de Mayo is quite the holiday. Mexican restaurants are packed, liquor stores are overflowing, schools put on special celebrations for the kids. It's really quite a blast, even though I can't speak Espanol. (I only speak 'menu.') It makes for a happy day.
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