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| When Cinco de Mayo loses it pizzazz |
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Has Denver’s Cinco de Mayo lost its pizzazz, its intended meaning, and its historical significance? For certain, it has lost el sabor politica of the past, or maybe I am the one who hangs onto nostalgia that may never return, a time and place when I was first introduced to its true meaning. The images stored in my mind tell the story of a well-organized Chicano community, large marches and protests to announce discontentedness through noticias en los barrios. During those times, there was a willingness to struggle against racist legislation, inadequate funding to serve our communities and restore the general deterioration of our neighborhoods. There used to be marches and demonstrations of cultural pride as protesters flaunted their banners, wore t-shirts of their Mexican revolutionary heroes and shouted slogans at the top of their lungs about a struggle for liberation.
What is the intended message of Cinco de Mayo festivals held across metropolitan Denver? Is the message that our lots in life have now been fulfilled? Is it an open invitation to allow the commercialization of the culture by corporate vultures vying for the Latino/Mexicano market? The sweet scent of dinero has a way of getting public relations and advertisement specialists in large conglomerates on the hunt with enticing weapons that filter past our rational consciousness into deeper subliminal parts of our physiological make ups. Unconsciously, corporations may not be willing to place their labels on radical approaches to social change such as a march. When the manacles of cooptation opens its arms and invites groups to participate, especially during an economic recession, it is very easy to bury the radical consciousness under a potpourri of rationalizations. It is generally called survival.
The smell of comida Mexicana lingers in the air, even after the celebration ends as the commercial class gets off buses, taxicabs and Mercedes Benz’ to resume business as usual on Monday morning. The backdrop of the Theatre of the Oppressed, temporarily painted against the beautiful blue skies of Colorado to honor the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the nation, is washed away overnight. T-shirts and banderas and are neatly folded and put away in a treasure chest of memories ready for next year.
What was once a march has now been transformed into a parade of festival goers; la marcha has been watered down with a shot of tequila, numbing the revolutionary spirit that forced our antepasados to bear arms in defense of liberation. Our consciousness is being washed down with cerveza; and an old value called competition that drives capitalism leads the parade as musical and chile-eating contests have Raza ranting, raving and cheering about fun things; but somewhat insignificant. Don’t get me wrong, it is fun to play. But we should never be led asunder, especially by outside interests who do not understand the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo and whose motivations have nothing to do with achieving social justice. We can play afterwards. After la Victoria!
The only banners that fly over the city are humungous displays announcing what appears to be structural integration of the Latino/Mexicano/Chicano populations into American society. Youth cruisers elate gas peddlers as they drive up and down Federal Boulevard, with Mexican flags draped across their hoods, head bands with the Mexican colors and a Corona beer. What remains are the oppressive conditions that keep immigrants in bondage, prisons filled with Brown people and high “push out” rates in Colorado high schools that are leading to the development of a permanent underclass. Real revolutionaries, you know the Che Guevara types, sit in the peanut gallery and wonder when the eyes of the community will be opened to the illusions that have been created.
Legislative sessions remain bare as legislators smirk at the emptiness of a room that should be filled with brown people during intense heated legislative sessions. You want an example? Sure! Senator Shawn Mitchell is sponsoring SB-98. According to Padres Unidos, an activist organization that keeps the activist torch burning argues that this bill “would require English language competency as a high school graduation requirement, which already been addressed in the Governor’s CAP4K education reform bill. Mandating SB-98 without providing necessary student supports will set English language learners up for failure and increase statewide dropout rates. This goes against the P-20 Council’s goal to cut the statewide dropout rate in half.” There goes another generation of Brown children down the tubes.
T-shirts are worn; but by few because young people are impressed with heroes who play baseball and basketball, spoken word artists and rappers. Media fuels their deep desires of becoming famous and making tons of cash. I don’t blame them. I hope that those dreams are not drowned in the shallow waters of illusion.
The only slogans that can be heard are drowned out by the larger voice of consumerism and streaming banners that are drowning out the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo. I am not opposed to big celebrations, but what I think we need to do is restore the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo along with the honor of being who we truly are.
Ramón Del Castillo, Ph.D. is an independent journalist.
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