Cinco de Mayo

The Fifth of May quickly approaches and Tucson is preparing for many Cinco de Mayo festivals.  One of my favorite things to do is ask random people what Cinco de Mayo is, because most people don’t know.  To be honest, up until a few years ago, I though it was Mexico’s Independence Day.  However, that day falls in September, and again in November.  Mexico celebrates the 16^th of September because that was the day in 1810 when independence was declared from Spain.  November 20^th is celebrated because that marks the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910.  Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican Independence, and is hardly celebrated in Mexico itself.  In fact, it is probably celebrated more in the US than in Mexico.

Here is my history lesson for today.  Napoleon III ruled France in the middle of the 19^th century, and one of his dreams was to see a return of the powerful French Empire.  Napoleon III sought to create, and rule, a union of all Latin-speaking peoples (people whose language developed from Latin).  Since those in the former colonies of Spain in the Americas spoke Spanish, the term Latin America was coined.  Napoleon III looked for an opportunity to invade, but the Monroe Doctrine of the United States presented quite the obstacle.  The Monroe Doctrine stated that any interference with independent states in the Americas would be seen as an act of aggression.  However, an opportunity presented itself in 1861 in the form of the American Civil War. 

Mexico was heavily in debt, and in early 1861, President Juarez of Mexico declared that in order to improve the economy, they would suspend payments of foreign debts.  France, along with Spain and Great Britain set sail for Mexico to demand payment of debts.  The United States was occupied with its own war and did not have the resources to protect Mexico.  Spain and Great Britain worked out a deal with Mexico and returned home, but France used the opportunity to invade and establish French authority. 

 

France’s military landed in Vera Cruz and began its march toward Mexico City.  Being one of the greatest militaries in the world at the time, the French troops did not take the Mexican soldiers seriously.  The Mexican troops however were defending their homes, and when they met the invaders near Puebla on May 5, 1862, the outnumber Mexican forces routed the French troops and forced them all the way back to Vera Cruz. 

The victory was huge for Mexican morale, but short lived.  Napoleon III sent reinforcements and a year later occupied Mexico City and installed Maximilian I as emperor of Mexico.  As soon as the American Civil War was over, the United States began backing Mexican interests and by 1867, Maximilian and his main generals were killed, leaving Mexico to be ruled by Mexicans.  While the battle of Puebla was one of many battles that Mexicans fought, Cinco de Mayo represents the battles and struggles that the Mexicans had to fight to ensure their independence and the spirit of the holiday echoes the spirit of the revolution.  Viva la Mexico!

 

All of this aside, Cinco de Mayo represents for me the birth of my baby brother and is a time when I can reflect on how awesome he is; so Happy Birthday Quentin.

Daddy-Daughter Weekend

This past weekend might have been the best one I have ever had.  Vanessa was out of town, creating the first ever daddy-daughter weekend.  This was the first time that I have been able to spend more than a long afternoon with her since she was nine months old.  Vanessa left on Thursday night and Friday was a pretty normal day.  Saturday however, was a blast.  I got her up before six and we hit the ground running.  We got to the Desert Museum right at seven.  I wanted to make sure we got there before it got too hot, so that the animals would be more active.  A couple of kids from her day care class met us there, which made my morning a lot easier.  She loved it.  She really loved the wolves, and kept howling all weekend.  When we got home, we went for a bike ride and checked out a couple of garage sales.  Charlotte got a new (to her) slide fort and a scooter.  After a record long nap (from me; I was exhausted), we went out and got some pizza.  I finally got her to be around nine.  She let me sleep late on Sunday.  We played a round of disc golf; her first time.  We drove up to Windy Point and climbed around on the rocks for a while.  That evening, her little friend next door came over and they played on her new slide until it was dark.  When I finally got her to bed around eight, I laid down on the couch to rest.  I barely blinked and it was two in the morning.  As tiring as it was, it was the best time.  I’m happy Vanessa is coming home tomorrow, but I can’t wait until the next daddy-daughter weekend. 

The only problem, I got absolutely no homework or cleaning done.  I don’t know how single parents do it.  I’m so grateful for my wonderful wife.

Senioritis

Uof A Campus

It's a real thing.  This May will mark fifteen years since I graduated high school.  To celebrate, I'm finally graduating from college.  Graduation is less than a month away and I feel like I'm stuck in quick sand.  I don't want to do anything.  Unfortunately, I need to pass my last few classes.  One of which is LRC 320.  I'm not even sure what LRC stands for; Language Reading and Culture maybe.  Anyway, the class is called Teaching with Technology and it is designed to teach us ways to use modern technology in the classroom.  To force the issue, it is only offered online.  One of the requirements is that I create a blog and a couple of posts, hence this post.  I have missed writing here and this is as good a reason as anything else to get me back on.  So if anyone still reads this thing, I'm back (for at least two more posts.)

I heard part of the Diane Rehm show today and it sounded like they were talking about Betty Draper's suicide.  I haven't seen last weeks episode yet so I turned the channel as soon as I could.  I'm not sure if I heard them correctly, but I definitely could see that character killing herself.  She is really depressed this season.  It seems that her new marriage and her new weight are bringing her down.  If this is a spoiler for anyone, sorry.  Like I said, I'm not even sure if that's what they were talking about.  You know Diane Rehm, I can hardly understand anything she says anyway.  I'm sure that whatever happened to her to cause her to talk like that was a tragedy, but how can she still have a job in radio.  I guess other people can understand her better than me.  Vanessa says that she always has great guests and is a good interviewer, but I can never listen long enough to enjoy the show.

I think I'll go watch Mad Men now.  Thank goodness for on demand.  How did we ever get by without it?