Hey, are you thinking of wearing eating a bunch of tacos and drinking lots of margaritas today armed with a big ol’ mustache and a sombrero? How about … not doing that?
Franchesca Ramsey’s Decoded on MTV is here to debunk common misconceptions about Cinco De Mayo with a history lesson about what it actually celebrates and why it’s become bastardized into the American drinking fest it is today. With the help of Kat Lazo of The Kat’s Meow, who lays out why wearing a marginalized culture as a costumes is terrible, Ramsey explains the significance of May 5, 1862 and the Chicano Movement making it a day of pride, before alcohol companies jumped on it for a marketing opportunity complete with gross caricatures.
So there it is; don’t call today’ “Mexican Independence Day” and don’t participate in any terrible appropriation that reduces cultures to stereotypes. Now, hopefully you can acknowledge and even celebrate this holiday with the proper context and not make a huge mockery out of it. It’s especially terrible, Lazo points out, when you consider how criminalized Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are at the current moment.
And if you’re going to enjoy some delicious food and drinks, says Lazo, “Why not do it while celebrating a Mexican-American owned business?”
(image: screengrab)
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