I love to celebrate any holiday, I really do….my ideal is to always have a party or dinner significant to the holiday or event. We’ve had Mardi Gras parties, Oscar parties, Martini parties, Super Bowl Sunday dinners with dishes from the team’s home states, Valentine cookies and cakes, Easter brunches, July 4th picnics…you name it and we’ve had it at one time or another.
Some holidays are about a lot more than the food and fun. I understand the importance of the religious aspect of Christmas and Easter, the historical significance of July 4th and other national holidays. So in that vein, and before we start to down those Magaritas and eat chips and salsa and dine on Mexican food tonight, I thought I would re-post a blog from a couple of years ago. It’s the story of Cinco de Mayo.
This is Why We Celebrate Victory
If you’ve noticed a sudden dearth of avocados, limes, Corona Extras and Jose Cuervo at your local grocery store over the past couple of days, don’t panic — no one is conspiring against you. Instead, your neighbors are simply stocking up to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a holiday celebrated in Mexico and all over the United States with delicious Mexican cuisine, far too much alcohol and plenty of fanfare.
But Cinco de Mayo (“the fifth of May”) is much more than an entertaining way to forget an entire day’s worth of events. The holiday owes its origins to the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when the Mexican army overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to defeat invading French forces from conquering the state of Puebla. The victory remains a cause for commemoration nearly 150 years later.
Interestingly enough, Cinco de Mayo isn’t celebrated in Mexico nearly as much as it is in the United States, as the country’s most widely recognized national patriotic holiday is actually the Mexican Independence Day on September 16. But Cinco de Mayo gets plenty of attention in the U.S. not just from Mexican-Americans, but also from anybody interested in seeking out new forms of cultural exposure — largely due to the efforts of liquor companies and Mexican restaurants.
Last year, MTV Tr3s sent comedian Cristela Alonzo to Los Angeles’ historic Olvera Street to report on the community’s deep understanding of Cinco del Mayo. While the holiday has historic roots, Alonzo acknowledged that many participants view Cinco de Mayo as “an excuse to get drunk and party.” But as Alonzo learned, enjoying the rowdier aspects of Cinco de Mayo doesn’t have to come at the expense of forgetting the holiday’s cultural significance.
“What’s important is to remember the meaning behind the holiday,” she reported of her findings. “It’s about freedom and to celebrate those who had the courage to defend it.”
So as you immerse yourself in today’s festivities, make sure to put your ice cold cerveza down for long enough to acknowledge the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo, a holiday built on the foundation of freedom. ** This article is from the MTV website
And today!
Cha Cha Cha It’s Fiesta Time
Corona, Dos Equis, beer, fiesta, Mexico, Battle of Puebla, cinco de mayo, jose cuervo, tequila, limes, margharitas
Cha Cha Cha It’s Fiesta Time!
You know what they say: Drink responsibly, Drive safely – OH WAIT, we live in New York City, we can be totally irresponsible – BUT then again there is May 6th to think about!
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Thursday’s Top Ten Oscar Upsets!
Posted in BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, Brokeback Mountain, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Humphrey Bogart, Jack Nicholson, My Cousin Vinny, Oscar, Ralph Fiennes, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Shakespeare on February 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
So who do you think is going to win this year? Unlike some other years, there isn’t just one picture which will run away with all of the top awards. The field is open and the predicting is hitting fever pitch. Is it anybody’s guess? Maybe. I have my own predictions and I’ll post them before Sunday evening. Feel free to write in your own choices for Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress, Best Director, and any other BEST you want to pick.
Sometimes a dark horse emerges and at the last moment, streams past all the other contenders and snatches the top prize. Do you remember these well-known Oscar upsets?
1. 2006 – Crash beats out Broke Back Mountain for Best Picture! WTF? Crash was interesting and full of racial and social tension but when it was announced that it won Best Picture, there were some audible gasps and best of all, do you remember that Jack Nicholson, who announced the winner, raised one of his famous eyebrows in a betcha didn’t see that coming!
2. 1943 – What were they thinking??? Paul Lukas won the Best Actor Award for his role in Watch On The Rhine. And Humphrey Bogart LOST for his role in Casablanca. OMG!!
3. 1999 – Shakespeare in Love was a fine movie, with great costumes but did you expect it to beat out Saving Private Ryan? I mean really? Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Edward Burns????
4. 2002 – Who beat out Nicholas Cage, Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Michael Caine for Best Actor? Adrien Brody! He was relatively unknown compared to the heavy-hitters he was up against. If his win was a surprise, imagine what Halle Berry was thinking when he grabbed her and planted a great big kiss on her mouth and when they tried to stop his acceptance speech, he said NO. Then gave an anti-war speech and received a standing ovation for it.
5. 1994 – Schindler’s List won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and 5 more Best categories, BUT Ralph Fiennes did NOT win Best Actor. Tommy Lee Jones took the top prize with his role in The Fugitive. Jones was good as a cop but seriously? Fiennes was Oscar-worthy as the odious Nazi, Amon Goth. I can only imagine how awful that night was for him as Schindler’s List racked up win after win.
6. 1991 – It was not a good night for Goodfellows! Dances With Wolves snapped up the Best Picture Award. The other nominees were Godfather Part III, Awakenings and Ghost. And yet another “you lose” for Martin Scorcese.
7. 1942 – Only time will tell and it did…How Green Was My Valley won Best Picture over……are you ready? Citizen Kane! Consistently on the top of greatest movie lists for years, in 1998 AFI declared Citizen Kane to be the number one greatest movie ever! Better late than never??
8.1977 – Should we have been surprised when a feel-good-loser-wins-in-the-end-against-all-odds movie punched its way to Best Picture and in doing so knocked out Taxi Driver and All The President’s Men? YES! OMG, Taxi Driver? DeNiro?
9. 1993- This was the night the wild card entry won! Marisa Tomei played the sassy and saucy Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny. And Vanessa Redgrave and Miranda Richardson went home empty-handed.
10. 2010– No list of Oscar upsets would be complete without mentioning Kathryn Bigelow. She was the first female to win Best Director for The Hurt Locker and truly upset her ex-husband James Cameron who was the favorite to win with Avatar!
Academy Awards night has been full of surprises and upsets many times over and this list is by no means complete. Perhaps I can post another list before the big night!
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