The fifth of May, or Cinco de Mayo, is a day many of us look forward to in the springtime. The special date has been made famous not only for its historical importance, but for its social relevance as well.
The fifth of May, or Cinco de Mayo, is a day many of us look forward to in the springtime. The special date has been made famous not only for its historical importance, but for its social relevance as well.
This past Cinco de Mayo, sponsors of the carnival held at Tom McCall Waterfront Park decided it was high time to attempt a new world record: to host the largest gathering of people wearing sombreros in history. The previous world record was 500 sombrero-wearing folk in one place; Portland aimed for 800 people total. What they got was more than 1,000 people donning the traditional headwear on that cloudy fifth of May.
As good as the intentions of the sponsors may have been, urging others to take a part of a culture and make it their own is technically cultural appropriation. While some aspects of cultural appropriation, such as assimilation, can be positive, many are negative as well.
Oftentimes, it implies acculturation of a minority culture by a dominant culture and can include art, music, religion, social behavior or forms of dress and adornment. Once these elements are removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, they can have new meanings assigned to them that differ from those they originally held.
With that definition, it is pretty safe to say that nearly everything in our modern world has been culturally appropriated. Right now, it’s a big trend, thanks to stores like Urban Outfitters (and their penchant for rip-off Pendleton prints). As trendy or normal as it may be, that doesn’t necessarily make it right.
The sombrero-wearing world record event was sponsored and supported by the Portland Guadalajara Sister City Association, a non-profit that focuses on building a sense of community between Portland and the city of Guadalajara. Despite that, it still means that many people with no Mexican heritage were walking around the waterfront with a cultural symbol they (most likely) do not identify with.
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo has been a common practice in the U.S. for decades. Its celebration is more common in the U.S. than it is in its home country of Mexico. While celebrating it is not necessarily a problem, what is a problem is that many people don’t know the history behind the date.
Many believe that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s own Independence Day; however, Mexico celebrates its independence on Sept. 16. Back in 1862, the Mexican army won an unlikely battle against French forces at the Battle of Puebla.
It’s great to celebrate this day in the city of Puebla, which is basically the only major Mexican city that observes the date. The day itself marks a victory that was short-lived. A year later, the French returned with 30,000 troops and easily disposed of the Mexican army, capturing Mexico City and establishing Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is observed to commemorate Mexico’s initial victory over the French and celebrate the fact that, since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas has been invaded by any European military force.
According to United Press International, Cinco de Mayo did not gain much popularity in the U.S. until the 1980s, when big marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized on the celebratory aspects of the day and began to promote it.
American society values days of celebration. Humans are generally fun-loving creatures, so it is almost in our nature to participate in activities and events that promote fun and having a good time. And where there is beer, there will always be something interesting (though not necessarily fun) going down.
Portland’s own Cinco de Mayo celebration is in its 28th year, which means it was originally started back in the 1980s, right when celebration was coming into vogue. It’s fine to celebrate a holiday, but we should make sure we are doing it for the right reasons.
Has our society appropriated another country’s day of observance and turned it into a day that is specifically meant to have a good time—and, let’s face it, get drunk? Sometimes it sure seems like it. Still, Portland’s festival was, and has remained, very family friendly; it provides carnival rides, traditional food, music and even lucha libre for all to enjoy.
But while Portland has its heart in the right place, major beer and advertising companies spend millions of dollars every year in order to promote their products and partying on the night of May 5.
In the long run, it is up to you, the individual, to decide whether or not celebrating Cinco de Mayo is an act of cultural appropriation. Whether it is or not, take time to learn the history behind the dates and holidays we acknowledge in this country; you just might learn something new.
