Why?
1. Paigey is of Mexican heritage--and it's a Mexican holiday!
2. It took me 30+ years for this to "dawn" on me, but I was born and raised just hours away from the country!
Sure, everyone knows the Mexico border is right next to Calfornia. But for some reason that never really struck me until yesterday when I was ordering a burrito at my favorite Provo Mexican Fast Food place. I was looking over the menu and came across the "California Burrito." For a minute I thought, "That's funny. Why not a Wisconsin Burrito or a Nevada Burrito?"
Duh, Dawn, California is Mexico's neighbor. Of course they influence each other. California is Mexico's Ethel. Californians and Mexicans are BFFLs. (Minus a few crabby citizens on each side, mind you.)
So, from now on I am so-appreciating the influence Mexico has had on me!
I'm appreciating it all: the family and friends we have that are of Mexican heritage, the memories I have of day-trips my family would make each summer for lobster dinner, Dave's ritual of eating chips and salsa without fail each Sunday, the lanaguage I wish I knew better, the food (how can you not like a culinary palette that includes avocados, tortillas, and salsa?), the people, the music, y mas!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Viva la raza (forgive the missing accentos).
History Lesson: Origin de Cinco de Mayo (again, taken from Wikipedia.org):
Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "5th of May") is primarily a regional and not an obligatory federal holiday in Mexico. The holiday commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.
A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day; Mexico's Independence Day is actually September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.
