A cheap Dollar Tree piñata swings limp in the wind around the head of my blindfolded friend aimlessly swinging a bat back and forth attempting to strike it. My friends and I laugh while also making no attempts to direct him. Inside the house that looms behind him is a litre of Sprite and the cheapest bag of tortilla chips we could find paired with grocery brand salsa. Eventually my friend manages to strike the piñata down and we all go inside to dive headfirst into our minuscule amount of food. As we all settle down onto the couch one of the girls turns to me with a big smile and wishes me a 'Happy Independence Day'. I remember not having the heart to correct her. Looking back, those humble celebrations had a genuine charm, but moving across the world has shown me how much more our culinary heritage has to offer when made with intention.
Cinco de Mayo is a complex day for me for a multitude of reasons. The first and most obvious being that no one really knows what it is. In the United States the commonly held belief is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. It's not. I remember my mom rolling her eyes because a man at work had insisted on bringing homemade guacamole to help her celebrate. Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of The Battle of Puebla, won against the French back in 1862. Originally introduced to the USA as a celebration of Mexican culture before being commercialised around the 1980s to sell beer and tequila. An effective story about the capitalist landscape of modern day America.
However, the thing I always come back to amid all the discourse is that my mom did take the guacamole home. And I did go home to indulge in the salty and crisp tortilla chips my mom always kept tucked in kitchen cabinets. Despite what people think or say, sometimes it's nice to just have an excuse to spend time together, celebrate, and eat. Isn't that what every holiday is?
Finding and engaging with authentic food is the best way to change the meaning of Cinco de Mayo from commercialised to cultural.
It's particularly fascinating to watch Cinco de Mayo make its way across the pond to London. It's incredible to see cultural festivals and food stalls pop up somewhere that originally felt so far removed from Mexican culture. This often misconstrued day has evolved beyond a way to push alcohol, it's become a lynchpin for cross-cultural celebration. So why not use Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to drink and eat? Even if it's been commercialised just to sell tequila, isn't there room to expand on that? To get involved in a culture and enjoy the rich delicacies it provides.
Finding and engaging with authentic food is the best way to change the meaning of Cinco de Mayo from commercialised to cultural. What is life without a salt-rimmed margarita topped off with freshly squeezed lime on a hot day? What's a morning without a fresh concha dipped in steaming hot chocolate? Cinco de Mayo is an opportunity to dig into classics like steaming carne asada and juicy carnitas, but above all it's an opportunity to connect with and celebrate a culture far from home, whether it's the USA or the UK. I suppose my new mantra for this outlook is: it's not independence day, but thank you for the guac!
This past weekend, Sweet Nibble had the honour of bringing our own piece of home to the early celebrations. We shared our flavours at the vibrant Tacover Taco & Tequila Festival in Southampton and the beautiful Mexican Vivo Festival at Hackney Bridge. Surrounded by the energy of live mariachi, community, and incredible Mexican street food, it was a joy to offer a warm, honestly baked concha to so many of you. While these weekend festivals served as the perfect kickoff to the 5th of May celebration, the invitation to connect with authentic, high-quality Mexican cuisine remains open year-round at our London bakery because celebrating our culture is an everyday affair.