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Monday, May 05, 2008

Happy Cinco de Mayo

I really don't know what Cinco de Mayo is except for an excuse to eat chips and salsa and say all the Spanish words you know like "uno dos tres", "Jose" and "¿Señor Bagley, puedo ir al baño?". (Those are the only words I remember from high school Spanish.) A coworker of mine sent this explanation of Cinco de Mayo to me a while ago, but I don't think it's right.
 
    Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.
 
    This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.
 
    The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.
 
    The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.
I guess Cinco de Mayo is also a day for some people to drive 55 on the highway. This morning I got stuck behind some yuppie in a PT Cruiser driving that slow. "I may only be going 55, but I'm getting 19.6 miles per gallon instead of 18.9!" Weinie.
 
That's all my brain can muster right now. Sorry.

2 comments:

Mandy said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_mayo
In the United States it is a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. It is not even a national holiday in Mexico, only a regional celebration of a battle victory. I have no idea why we celbrate on May 5th instead of on Mexico's independance day in September except for maybe because the weather is better.

beckyjune said...

ok...I had to laugh out loud about that Sinko de Mayo story. Too funny.