Update 34 - Cinco De Mayo in Buffalo NY
Today is Cinco De Mayo. I read recently that it isn’t quite as big a deal in Mexico, but here in the states its used ostensibly to celebrate Mexican American culture.
I got an email about an event going on, hosted by the Buffalo Rec Room, celebrating Cinco De Mayo. Got tickets, went, and it felt kind of sad. There really wasn’t anything Mexican about the event. Coronas and margaritas, one taco stand with specialty tacos to the six booze stands. The country cover band playing wasn’t bad. My partner and I grabbed a drink and played a game of oversized Jenga. It was staffed by college age people and people who looked like they wished they were still in college.
And not a single Mexican face.
I felt kind of foolish. It was the kind of event meant to raise money for the organizers and maybe get a good buzz on. It wasn’t my scene. It didn’t really remind me of living around Mexican Americans. It’s one of the things I miss most about living in Texas, other than the food. I think it has to do with culture overlap.
My grandparents were Polish. We only really had a relationship with that side of the family, and my parents chose to embrace the culture (lite-ly). Nothing light about the Catholic part of it, as most Polish people identify as Catholic. It felt to me that growing up in a Mexican Catholic household was much like growing up in a Polish Catholic household. There were differences as well, but the common ground we had always felt like it led to more earnest human connections.
It’s important to put yourself amongst people who have had and maybe are having different experiences to you. That being said, sometimes you feel at home with people who share just a part of your own culture. I think the culture is harder to find this far north.
Happy Cinco.