Please stop "celebrating" 5 de Mayo and using it as an excuse for getting drunk: that is the first thing that as mexican comes to my mind. And also, when I see non latin people drinking or "congratulating" us for "Independence day". So here is why is racist. Sorry not sorry.
First of all, in Mexico we don't celebrate 5 de Mayo, except if you are from Puebla, or live in the United States, or work with people from the US in the tourist industry, but we'll get to that a little bit later.
So let me start saying that in Mexico we don't celebrate it, and it is not Mexico's 4th of July. Therefore, when a non mexican, or even latin person celebrate it, it becomes cultural appropiation, and yes, racist.
I did my "homework" and talked about this with a friend, but you can find a lot of articles and post on social media from other mexicans saying what I'm about to tell you too.
"Everyone wants to be part of a celebration that makes them 'sympathizers' of mexican culture, when the rest of the year, latinos are not welcome", say to me my friend Susana, who lives in California, when I asked her how she feel about it.
Why celebrating 5 de mayo is racist, is Mexico's Independence Day?
Short answer: is not Mexico's Independence Day. This date actually conmemorates the Batalla de Puebla (Battle of Puebla) that occured in 1862.
It's a date that as mexican you learn in school, but to be honest, it's not that important in Mexico, unless you work at a resort or live in Cancún, Cabo or Puerto Vallarta, where also, we don't celebrate it. We just get along with the tourist that want to be "kind", but it feels pretty racist, to be honest.
I saw a picture on Facebook talking about why is racist and here are some of the stuff I agree with, and that actually push me to write this article:
- It is racist when people use it as an excuse to eat "tacos" or any other mexican food.
- It is racist when you use it as an excuse to drink tequila.
- It is racist when you dress up like a stereotypical mexican as if being mexican was a aesthetic.
- It is racist when you talk about it and "celebrate" with any latin person. We are not one culture, just because we are latin, doesn't mean we have the same holidays.
As mexicans, no many celebrate it. However, over the years some latin people who live, mainly in the US, have adopt this date to claim it back and be proud of being mexicans, but outside the US is NOT A REAL HOLIDAY. Again, we mexicans don't celebrate it, so... unless a mexican is inviting you to a 5 de Mayo party, you should not use it as an excuse to "celebrate".
Can I celebrate 5 de Mayo? Or should I say "congratulations" to a mexican?
Honestly? After all I just pointed out to you? Let's just watch what the Internet have to say about it:
Let's make it short. If we, mexicans, don't celebrate 5 de Mayo, why should you? Please, just don't.
Ps. To all my mexicans in the US, thank you for reading and of course, if we want, we can celebrate.