Cinco de Mayo?

I am not Irish. Neither is my husband. On Saint Patrick ’s Day this year my husband and I went to Ivarrone’s Trattoria where I enjoyed a traditional dinner for the feast of San Giuseppe: pasta con sarde, pesce di San Pietro, and zeppole and sfinge.

I believe March 17^th is  a celebration for the Irish.

My children on the other hand felt no need to be Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day. Their ItaIian descent does not preclude them from enjoying green beer and Jameson. They feel very much at home partying with their Irish and not-so-Irish friends---of which they have many.

My children have no Mexican friends. In fact they have very few Hispanic friends if any at all. Their closest encounter with Mexican ethnicity is salsa from Kings and (in Kara’s case) the Taqueria del Sol in Decatur, Georgia. Yet Cinco de Mayo is a well-planned event—a monumental holiday—a cause for unabandoned frivolity. Jose Cuevo is the star Mexican celebrity.

I am not sure when this happened (I do not recall getting a memo) but just like everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick ’s Day, somehow everyone is now Mexican on Cinco de Mayo. May 5^th is the new March 17^th.

I have a hunch that pretty soon everyone will be celebrating May 9^th—Victory Day in Russia—Smirnoff, Stolinaya and potato pancakes for all.

As long as there is an ethnicity, a named holiday, and some alcohol, it’s a party.