Living Outside the Lines: “Cinco de Mayo = Gringo Speak for Fajitas and Margaritas”

by, Becky J Miller

Cinco de Mayo, the day everyone eats Tex-Mex food, drinks beer and margaritas, right? Why there’s a need to reserve a special day for such revelry is beyond me. I could eat Mexican food, particularly homemade refried bean and cheese tacos, and guacamole, practically seven days a week.  Well, maybe six days, one day is reserved for pizza loaded with pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms and green peppers.

Until I married a man with a Hispanic mother, this white woman who was not born, nor primarily educated, in Texas thought of May 5th solely as dad’s birthday, nothing more. My father, Bill, now refers to Cinco de Mayo as “Cinco de Billo”. He thinks it’s very cool that the entire state of Texas (do other states celebrate Cinco de Mayo like Texans??) parties in his honor.

Moving to Texas as a high school junior means I missed Texas history, so the significance of Cinco de Mayo was lost on me. Honestly, until I looked it up on Wikipedia, I thought Cinco de Mayo was associated with Mexican Independence Day. It’s not, that event occurred September 16.

It seems ironic to me that we don’t eat Tex-Mex and drink margaritas on dieciseis de septiembre instead. It is probably because we Gringos cannot correctly pronounce September 16 in Spanish. That, and no one consulted me on the holiday calendar; I would have shown the powers that be the error of their logic.

I’m not actually convinced it was my mother-in-law who introduced me to Cinco de Mayo. I think my sister-in-law had more to do with the celebration. The Miller clan (my husband’s mother was Hispanic, but his father is a blue eyed, blonde headed Iowa farm boy) gathers for Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When the grandchildren were younger, we gathered for their birthdays as well.

Somewhere along the way, we Millers started convening for Cinco de Mayo, which translates, “Let’s eat fajitas, drink peach margaritas and do tequila shots.” My sister-in-law makes THE BEST fajitas, refried beans, fideo or sopa as we like to call it, Spanish rice, and guacamole. Her margaritas aren’t too shabby either.  Add my brother-in-law’s pico de gallo and it makes the two-hour drive completely worthwhile!

For inquiring minds that want to know, Cinco de Mayo is actually a celebration of the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza. (Thank you, Wikipedia).

Although any victory is worth celebrating, why we non-Hispanic Americans make such a big deal about it remains a mystery. No matter though, if it means reduced pricing on margaritas, I’ll drink to that.

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller

“Warrior Princess”