Cinco de Mayo: Mexico’s 2nd rebuttal of a European colonizer’s “dividing up the meat” attempts
- Thomas Tittmann
- May 5
- 8 min read
CREDITS: Yes, Steve, yet another example of your time-honored wisdom: “there’s a Grateful Dead song for every occasion”…
IT IS NOW POST TIME...
FIRST, A History Lesson
"Bullets"
Celebrates their May 5, 1862 victory over the French invaders
It's different from Mexican Independence Day - September 16 - which celebrates Mexico's Sept. 16, 1810 victory over their Spanish colonizers.
[Excerpts from the article at the next link]
While Cinco de Mayo honors Mexico's resilience and bravery in the face of strife, the holiday has also become, for some, an excuse to party.
Another issue is that not enough American schools teach the importance of Chicanx history and its peoples' contributions to the U.S.
Meanwhile, in the U.S, it's become an annual celebration of Mexican American culture.
It began as a form of resistance to the effects of the Mexican-American War in the late 19th century. The holiday gained popularity during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
"It becomes a Chicano holiday, in many ways, linked to the Chicano movement, because we discover Mexicans resisting a foreign invader," García said. "They link the struggle of the Chicano movement to Cinco de Mayo."
"When you study the history of Chicanos and Latinos, of course, they've been history makers," García said. "They've been involved in all aspects of American history, not to mention the wars ... In World War II alone, almost half a million Latinos – mostly Mexican Americans – fought in the war. And they won a disproportionate number of Congressional Medals of Honor."
The victory also helped prevent the French from settling in and helping the American Confederacy in the Civil War, according to History.com.
Opening Song
Now watch as the ball revolves and the night-time falls
And again the hunt begins and again the blood wind calls
By and by, again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some men's eyes
(Well I know)
It strolls the sidewalk and it rolls the streets
Staking turf, dividing up meat
(full lyrics near end of the post)
CINCO DE DEAD-O
[Excerpts from the article link at the end of this section - with my added emphases]
The expansive legacy of Cinco de Mayo in Deadology began on May 5, 1961. Jerry Garcia and his new friend, Robert Hunter, played their first gig together at Arroyo’s Lounge. Their compensation from the bar was five dollars.
"Make good money, five dollars a day. If I made any more I might move away."
The Warlocks second live performance was at Magoo’s Pizza Parlor on May 5, 1965. The set list is unknown, but the band would play Magoo’s a few more times. Two weeks later at Magoo’s, Phil Lesh first saw the band, and on that night, Garcia asked Phil to be The Warlocks’ bassist. By the time the year was over, the Warlocks would change their name to the Grateful Dead and would embark on a musical odyssey like no other.
The Grateful Dead played eight times on Cinco de Mayo, and Garcia and Kahn played a landmark acoustic gig in Oregon State Prison on 5-5-82, although the actual date of that gig is questionable. I go into all this in more detail in Deadology, but here are thoughts on some of the extraordinary May 5 performances.
As most of you know, this is a spectacular performance start to finish. The singing and acoustic picking on “Friend of the Devil” is sublime. In a somber tone Garcia croons, “The sheriff’s on my trail. And if he catches up with me I’ll spend my life in jail.” Imagine the thoughts of the prisoners as they wistfully look back on their final days of freedom. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry > Run for the Roses sparkles—best-ever versions. And the “Rueben and Cerise” encore is acoustic perfection.
Next 3 (2 singles & the full set) by Jerry Garcia and John Kahn. Performed at Oregon State Prison on May 5, 1982...A maximum security facility...
IMMIGRATION: WE'RE ALL STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND...
A few weeks ago, a friend sent me this haunting video...I've used it in another post and it called out for a place in this post...
CHICANO MOVEMENT CHAMPIONED MEXICAN-AMERICAN IDENTITY AND FOUGHT FOR CHANGE
[Excerpts from the article link below with my added emphases. The article was cited in the USA Today article on Cinco de Mayo at the beginning of this post]
Meanwhile, in the U.S, it's become an annual celebration of Mexican American culture.
It began as a form of resistance to the effects of the Mexican-American War in the late 19th century. The holiday gained popularity during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
"It becomes a Chicano holiday, in many ways, linked to the Chicano movement, because we discover Mexicans resisting a foreign invader," García said. "They link the struggle of the Chicano movement to Cinco de Mayo."
Leaders in the movement pushed for change in multiple parts of American society, from labor rights to education reform to land reclamation. As University of Minnesota Chicano & Latino Studies professor Jimmy C. Patino Jr. says, the Chicano Movement became known as “a movement of movements.” “There were lots of different issues,” he says, “and the farmworker issue probably was the beginning.”
Ultimately, the Chicano Movement won many reforms: The creation of bilingual and bicultural programs in the southwest, improved conditions for migrant workers, the hiring of Chicano teachers, and more Mexican-Americans serving as elected officials.
“A key term in Chicano Movement activism was self-determination,” says Patino, “the idea that Chicanos were a nation within a nation that had the right to self-determine their own future and really their own decisions in their own neighborhood, in their own barrios.”
TONIGHT AT THE MOVIES...
Without knowing I was posting about Cinco de Mayo, Eileen selected this food-themed movie set in Oakland California: “East Side Sushi”…
Themes include:
Juana - a single Latino Mom's struggles to make her way in a man's world
her relationship with her traditional Mexican father
modelling womanhood for her middle-school aged daughter Lydia
speaking truth to the misogynistic powers as she strives to fulfill her dreams
"I want to be a Sushi chef...not a sous chef"
Her father wants her to use her cooking skills in a traditional way:
But Juana has a different dream for herself that calls for learning new things:
[from the trailer] Years of working in the food industry have made Juana's hands fast—very fast. She can slice and dice anything you throw at her with great speed and precision. When Juana gives up her fruit-vending cart in order to find a more secure job, she lands a position as a kitchen assistant at a local Japanese restaurant. It is here she discovers a whole new world of cuisine and culture, far-removed from everything she has ever known. While working in the restaurant, Juana secretly observes the sushi chefs and eventually teaches herself to make a multitude of sushi. With her creativity sparked, Juana's re-ignited passion for food drives her to want more from her job and her life. Juana eventually attempts to become a sushi chef, but is unable to because she is deemed the "wrong" race and gender. Against all odds, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, determined to not let anyone stop her from achieving her dream.
EXTRA SETS
As a fan of street art and artists (see my blog posts), this version has a place on the menu:
THROWING STONES FULL LYRICS
Throwing Stones
Lyrics By: John Barlow
Music By: Bob Weir
Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
Dizzy with eternity
Paint it with a skin of sky, brush in some clouds and sea
Call it home for you and me
A peaceful place, or so it looks from space
A closer look reveals the human race
Full of hope, full of grace, is the human face
But afraid we may lay our home to waste
There's a fear down here we can't forget
Hasn't got a name just yet
Always awake, always around
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
Now watch as the ball revolves and the night-time falls (note 1)
And again the hunt begins and again the blood wind calls (note 2)
By and by, again, the morning sun will rise
But the darkness never goes from some men's eyes (Well I know)
It strolls the sidewalk and it rolls the streets
Staking turf, dividing up meat
Nightmare spook, piece of heat
It's you and me, you and me
Click flash blade in ghetto night
Rudy's looking for a fight
Rat cat alley, roll them bones
Need that cash to feed that Jones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
Commissars and pinstripe bosses roll the dice
Anyway they fall, guess who gets to pay the price? (note 3)
Money green, or proletarian gray (note 4)
Selling guns instead of food today (note 5)
So the kids they dance and shake their bones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
Heartless powers try to tell us what to think
If the spirit's sleeping then the flesh is ink
History's page will be neatly carved in stone
The future's here, we are it, we are on our own
On our own, on our own, we are on our own
If the game is lost, then we're all the same
No one left to place or take the blame
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or that shining ball of blue we call our home
So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones
And the politicians throwing stones
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north (note 6)
And the whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours
While the current fashions set the pace
Lose your step, fall out of grace
The radical, he rant and rage
Singing someone got to turn the page
And the rich man in his summer home
Singing just leave well enough alone
But his pants are down, his cover's blown
And the politicians throwing stones
So the kids, they dance, they shake their bones
'Cause it's all too clear we're on our own
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
Picture a bright blue ball just spinning, spinning free
It's dizzying, the possibilities
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down
]Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]
Ashes, ashes, all fall down
[Ashes, ashes, all fall down]
(1) Bob Weir sometimes sang "... as the sphere revolves."
(2) Bob Weir seems to have sung some variations on this line. These include "The light goes on and off and the nightbird calls" and "Come close to the stars, celestial balls" (thanks to Dave Ellis for this).
(3) Bob Weir has sung variants on these two lines: eg "Any more the pinstripe bosses own the dice, Anyway they roll guess who gets to pay the price?" (thanks to Brian and Bill for this)
(4) Bob Weir sang this line as "Money green is the only way" on at least two occasions on The Dead's 2003 summer tour (thanks to Carrie for this)
(5) Bob Weir has sung this line as "Blood for oil, dropping bombs today," "Drop them bombs, grab that oil today" and "Sell them guns, rape the earth today" (thanks to Bill, Chuck and Brian for noting these).
(6) Bob Weir sometimes sang "... while white goes north" - which are the lyrics in the "In The Dark" songbook.
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