Cinco de Mayo: A day for Mexican cultural pride

Karen C. Tully Arizona Daily Wildcat Jennifer Schowengerdt, a junior majoring in Spanish, makes a snow cone as part of the Cinco de Mayo celebration on the UA Mall yesterday. The party was organized by JUNTOS, a mixture of six Hispanic groups on campus.

"It's a day to pay tribute to our past," said Maricela Meza, an undeclared freshman and member of Kappa Delta Chi.

Meza's sorority joined five other University of Arizona Hispanic fraternities and sororities on the UA Mall for the Second Annual Cinco de Mayo celebration on campus.

Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., members of Juntos, a united Hispanic student organization, sold snow cones and typical Mexican food to students passing by.

As a band played traditional mariachi music, Juntos members socialized and munched on "durros," a crunchy Mexican snack.

"An event like this is to teach people what we're about, so that people can see what music we listen to, our dance, and the food we eat," said Juntos member Alex Rios, an accounting and finance junior.

On May 5, 1862, an under-equipped army of 5,000 Mexicans drove the French out of Mexico during the "Batalla de Puebla." Since then, the date has stood as a symbol of Mexican pride and resistance.

The Mexican victory on Cinco de Mayo was a symbolic victory for the United States as well, because the French presence in Mexico threatened the growing political and economic influences of American investors in Latin America.

Jennifer Schowengerdt, a junior majoring in Spanish, said Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in the United States than in Mexico.

Fernando Gonzales, a customs manager in Naco, Mexico, said yesterday's celebration was bigger than the one in Naco.

Gonzales brought his wife and 4-year-old son, Pedro, to visit the UA campus all day yesterday. After noticing the celebration, Gonzales said he decided to join in.

"There's no place to sit down, and it is too hot," he said. "But the people are smiling and the campus is beautiful."

Steve Romero, a political science junior, organized last year's celebration on the Mall.

"We, of Mexican heritage, should have something of equal representation," he said.

Romero said Cinco de Mayo is an opportunity for Chicanos to celebrate their culture just as Native Americans celebrate with an annual Pow Wow and African Americans, with Soul Explosion Day.

Unlike Gonzalez, Romero said a lot of non-Mexicans are unsure of what Cinco de Mayo represents.

"A lot of people get it confused with the 16th of September," he said. "The Cinco de Mayo is when they (the Mexican army) drove the French out."

September 16, 1810 is Mexico's Independence Day.

Jeff Boyd, a cultural and literary studies doctoral candidate, said Cinco de Mayo is similar to the Fourth of July.

"It brings up a lot of ethnic pride," Boyd said. "Today, there is a general feeling of pride on campus and in the general community."

Josu‚ LimĒn, president of the Movimiento Estudantil Chicano de Aztl n, said yesterday's celebration was an opportunity for Hispanic organizations to work together to educate the community on cultural issues.

Juntos is a group of six Hispanic organizations: Kappa Delta Chi, Omega Delta Phi, Sigma Lambda Beta, Gamma Alpha Omega, MEChA and the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers.

To organize Cinco de Mayo activities, Juntos received $585 from the Undergraduate Senate and $396 from the Associated Students Appropriations Board to fund the event.

Rios estimated profits from yesterday's food sales to be about $200 to $300.

The money will be used by Juntos to promote cultural awareness in the community and to fund an annual event, the "Que Pasa?" night, which recruits UA incoming freshmen to campus Hispanic organizations, Meza said.