Students share thoughts about Cinco de Mayo

By Alexis Garza and Lyric Pendergrass

Most people know about Cinco de Mayo, but don’t celebrate it. Some celebrate it and have big parties or hang out with their families. Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5 that commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla and in the United States. For example, a sky-diving club near Vancouver, Canada, holds a Cinco de Mayo skydiving event. In the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean, there is an annual Cinco de Mayo air guitar competition. These are some facts we found at Wikipedia. So we asked some students what they knew about Cinco de Mayo.

Q. Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
A. Sometimes I do, but not most of the time.
-Pedro Valencia
Q. Are you going to have a party?
A. No, I’m not, but last year I had a huge party with all my family and friends.
-Lupito Gonzalez
Q. Are you going to go to a party?
A. No, I usually go to Portland, but I’m not going this year.
-Ciana Stinson
Q. What do you eat that day?
A. Usually my mom cooks a lot of Mexican food so we have more than one thing.
-Jorge Garibay
Q. What did you do last Cinco de Mayo?
A. I slept all day, so I missed out on celebrating.
-Jose Mendez
Q. Do you hang out with your family?
A. Yeah, most of the time. A lot of my family members come to my house.
-Araceli Zepeda
Q. Do you know what Cinco de Mayo is?
A. Sorta. I don’t really celebrate it because of my religion.
-Marissa Gomez
A. No, I don’t even know what Cinco de Mayo is.
-Corinne Van Lier
1. All I know is that Cinco de Mayo means the 5th of May.
-Maria Banderas

So as you can see, some students celebrate and some don’t. Some students don’t even know the meaning of Cinco de Mayo. In our opinion, the day should be celebrated because it recognizes another culture and a country's achievement. Learn more about the day, then get out next year to celebrate!