Cinco de Mayo

So no sooner do I put my laptop bag down in my office do I hear a rumble outside......yep, it was a fight directly related to Cinco de Mayo. There are a bunch of Mexican students roaming around with flags but they are being confiscated because of an incident we had last year.

One kid had a flag draped over his backpack while walking up the stairs...it fell....some Puerto Rican kid stepped on it and all hell broke loose.

In addition to that, it's improper Mexican flag etiquette (see below):

The Mexican flag should never be allowed to drag along the ground

The Mexican flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit the Flag to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way

I asked one of my students last period who was covered in Mexican clothing and got his flag taken "What is Cinco de Mayo?" His reply "I actually don't really know, there was some battle or something." Interesting eh?

FYI: May 5th, aka Cinco de Mayo for the Spanish speakers commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862.

My question is, why does the United States even celebrate Cinco de Mayo? It is a way to make our Mexican population feel a little more at home? Is it a marketing ploy to sell more cervezas and margaritas? I asked my student who moved here from Mexico about it and he said that it's not a big holiday at all and is barely even celebrated outside of Puebla.

I noticed the beginning of an illegal alien backlash. There are many students today wearing red, white and blue and even carrying little American flags to show love for our country. They aren't being "in your face" or even saying anything, unlike the Mexicans who are screaming "vive el mexico" down the halls. As long as these things don't disrupt my classroom, I really don't care....but at least one of my kids left a little America flag in the hand of my plastic skeleton before they left :) I love the USA.