Let’s celebrate something today
It’s been a while since most of us have congregated with others. Parties, concerts, get-togethers, potlucks you name it are all on hold until this all blows over. I am privileged that I have everything I need here at home with a partner that can put up with me but honestly I know it gets boring. It gets boring for all of us and while that’s very small on the totem pole list of problems today I wanted to write something fun that you could potentially do with your loved ones while in quarantine.
First, let’s go into a bit of history, I am not one to just celebrate a holiday without really delving into its history, who is affected, and what it means as a whole. Here in America Cinco de Mayo is a day of drinking, putting on sombrero hats, eating tacos (one of my favorite things!!) and being loud and boisterous but I would like it to mean something a little more, so if you don’t mind bear with me as I write about it a bit more.
Cinco de Mayo celebrates a date back in 1852 when the Mexican army won the Battle of Puebla over France. In Mexico, it is also called the “Battle of Puebla Day”, although celebrations there are a bit different. The holiday here has become a way to celebrate Mexican-American culture and heritage especially in areas with a higher density of those populations. Culture should be celebrated, it makes us who we are in so many ways and as a Puerto Rican woman know how important it is to embrace culture, so learning more about Mexican culture and heritage is also important to me. This has been on my bucket list since I started a bucket list of everywhere I wanted to travel. I digress.
While the Battle of Puebla wasn’t an enormous victory in the war, it was a symbolic victory and I want to honor this victory by writing about different things to can do at home to commemorate the holiday that include fun activities for the whole family, delicious food, and some history searching. I hope you enjoyed this little snap into history and hope you can enjoy the holiday at home with loved ones.
- Celebrate with a spread for lunch or dinner of Mexican food
My local favorite Mexican restaurant is El Potro Mexican Bar & Grill and they have homestyle Mexican food that is incredible from Chicken tortilla soup to tacos they have you covered. I ordered a spread from them with all my favorites plus their virgin margarita mix!! I love that this is so nearby and anytime I am craving authentic Mexican food I can just quickly get it.
Tacos adobadas, tacos chipotle, rice & beans, virgin margaritas & tamales
Another local favorite Fuse Bistro is also doing some great Cinco de Mayo deals, with virgin margarita mixes to buy, all different kinds of tacos and more so check them out as well. I will be ordering from them as well this weekend because I am all about trying different takes on traditional cooking. Sometimes you can really learn a lot by expanding that palate of yours!
Food is an experience so use this time to make it fun for you and the family and if you have kids let them get in on the process of putting the food together. Later on, I talk about how to get your kids involved in some fun crafts as well :).
- Decorate your house or dining area for the day (or the whole week)
if you have some bright decorations laying around or maybe some from last year, put them up. Believe me, something bright will cheer you up and it gives you something to do this weekend :). Think yellows, greens, purples etc… I found a beautiful table runner, some translucent blue glasses & bamboo reusable straws. It made the whole meal bright and I will be using these items to brighten out my surroundings for a bit.
These glasses were the perfect addition, and these reusable straws were a great way to be sustainable
Loved the tassel on this!
- Do a Cinco de Mayo craft
This is great for kids to get involved- though if you’re an adult you can do them too. Some of my favorites I found online were the following. They are linked to the instructions. This just might keep those kids of yours occupied for more than 5 minutes, and its a great way to have them learn something new about another culture!
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- Papel Picadas ( Mexican Paper Cutting)
- Sombrero Cookies
- Puebla floats ( Recycled materials!)
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Photo from here
- Learn more Cinco de Mayo History
I spoke a little bit about Cinco de Mayo history above but there is plenty more. This is your chance to learn more about Mexican culture and Heritage while enjoying all the food. The article I was reading is linked here but I have also included general facts linked below about Mexican culture in general.
Mexican flag
- Celebrate your family
In Mexican culture as a whole family is incredibly important. Not just your traditional immediate family like how it is here in America, extended family is also part of this makeup. So what better time to understand this cultural norm than to celebrate your time together as a family and support each other near and far during this unprecedented time we are all living in. Let’s be unified within our families but also within our communities.
I hope you all enjoyed reading through this list as much as I loved creating it. Please tell me in the comments what you did with your families, or just you. Because if all you can do is sit on the couch, watch reruns and eat all the tacos then that’s fine too. The Maven doesn’t judge. Enjoy the weekend and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks! 🙂
xoxo,
The Maven
