El Obligatory List

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siete de mayo de mares de cincoAnother beer-sponsored holiday? I’m just now getting over my St-Pat’s-In-Ktown hangover. Why are we celebrating again?

n 1862, the French army began its advance. Under General Ignacio Zaragoza, 5,000 ill-equipped Mestizo and Zapotec Indians defeated the French army in what came to be known as the “Batalla de Puebla” on the fifth of May.

In the United States, the “Batalla de Puebla” came to be known as simply “5 de Mayo” and unfortunately, many people wrongly equate it with Mexican Independence which was on September 16, 1810, nearly a fifty year difference. Over, the years Cinco de Mayo has become very commercialized and many people see this holiday as a time for fun and dance. Oddly enough, Cinco de Mayo has become more of Chicano holiday than a Mexican one. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger scale here in the United States than it is in Mexico. People of Mexican descent in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing and other types of festive activities. [source]

Further…

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows? [source]

Finally, Liz Phair fans nationwide will be gathering at local Liz dey Mayo events, recalling the days when she was still listenable:

Cinco de mayo, blowout, denial
It wasn’t fun this time, letting you go
What if I never, a bullet forever,
Held out my hand to you?
We wouldn’t have known beautiful flow

Absolute measure, I ain’t no pleasure hound
Bus out of control, ploughing the road
Out on a bender
Just Alice falling down a deepening hole [source]

People have been asking for another ’approved venues’ list for the evening’s activities. It is safe to say they have been downright clamoring. Losanjealous recommends the following locales. Look for the Giant Dong Burrito seal of approval for your best bet this eve:

  • Magic Johnson’s TGIFridays
  • Chano’s Drive In
  • Chano’s Tire Shop burritopproval
  • El Siete Mares (Whittier location only)
  • El Conquistador
  • El Compadre (Echo Park only)
  • El Bastardio
  • El Shit-von-pantsoff (Mt. Washington only)
  • El Pollo Loco (Chatsworth Only)

Saturday’s lunch: Maria’s Ramada or El Atacor #11. Nothing less.