Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a major holiday celebrated by most Mexicans, or even most Mexican-Americans. Marking the day that the vastly outnumbered Mexican army defeated the better equipped French army in the 1862 battle of Puebla, the day here in the U.S. has mostly become a branding opportunity to sell tequila and an excuse for white people to get drunk. Still, putting aside those really bad moments when folks decide to wear sombreros while barhopping—because that’s what Mexicans do, I guess—some actually do use the day to remember their heritage. Except now, many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are “left torn” about Cinco de Mayo, now that a blatantly anti-Mexican president occupies the White House:
For years, Yazmin Irazoqui Ruiz saw Cinco de Mayo as a reason to eat tacos and listen to Mexican music.
The 25-year-old Mexican-born medical student left Mexico for the U.S. as a child and celebrates the day to honor a homeland she hardly remembers.
But the Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident said she’s reluctant to take part in Cinco de Mayo festivities this year as President Donald Trump steps up federal immigration enforcement and supporters back his call for the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I mean, what is it about? You want to eat our food and listen to our music, but when we need you to defend us, where are you?” Irazoqui Ruiz asked about the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in the country.
She’s right. You gotta wonder how many folks who chanted “BUILD THE WALL” over the past presidential campaign season and then voted Trump are planning on having tacos and margaritas later today.
Ruiz isn’t alone in her fears about the celebration in light of Trump’s mass deportation dragnet. In Detroit, Police Chief James Craig was repeatedly forced to reassure an anxious immigrant resident that his department would not be conducting immigration sweeps at the city’s annual Cinco de Mayo parade. Immigrant communities across the U.S. are in fear as the arrests of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record have doubled from this time last year:
This year, some immigrant enclaves have canceled or reduced Cinco de Mayo celebrations over fears that party-goers could be exposed to possible deportation. In Philadelphia, a Cinco de Mayo-related celebration was scrapped after organizers determined turnout would drop over concerns about immigration raids.
Others worry that parties could take a cruel spin, with revelers, emboldened by Trump’s crackdown, mocking and even attacking Mexicans. In Waco, Texas, a college fraternity at Baylor University was suspended after throwing a Cinco de Mayo party where students reportedly dressed as construction workers and maids and chanted “Build that Wall,” a reference to Trump’s signature campaign promise. The party sparked an investigation and campus protest.
“I don’t like to be so angry or shut people down for celebrating,” said Joanna Renteria, a Mexican-American blogger in San Francisco. “But when anyone makes an ignorant comment about my culture, it does affect me.”
Ignorance, say, like tweeting a taco bowl because that’s what Mexican-Americans are to you. So far the golfer-in-chief has been silent on the day following his attacks on Latino families, but he did make Mike Pence host a Cinco de Mayo event after canceling the White Houses’s celebration (both George Bush and Barack Obama regularly hosted celebrations), and the RNC issued a statement saying “Cinco de Mayo is a day we recognize the influence and contributions Mexican-Americans have made to our country with a spirit of hard work and a dedication to faith and family.” Right. Guess Maribel, a mom of four Mexican-Americans recently deported to Mexico despite having no criminal record and being a taxpayer, doesn’t count.