1.This Week’s Theme, #CincoDeMayo
Our theme on the show this week was #CincoDeMayo, which means the 5th of May in Spanish. Cinco de Mayo is a day for celebrating Mexican culture and traditions that is observed in the U.S. and other countries with a sizable Mexican population. Cinco de Mayo parades take to the streets and everybody heads to their favorite Mexican restaurant for a bite and a drink. Growing up in California, the school cafeteria would feature a Mexican-themed menu—with colorful Mexican-themed decor to go along with it.
The day commemorates the Mexican Army’s against-all-odds victory over the dominant French Army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862. Mexico had been a Spanish colony for 300 years starting 1521 before it was finally able to attain its independence in 1821; decades of political instability followed, capped off with a defeat in the Mexican-American War. The Battle of Puebla came at a critical juncture, just as the country was starting to regain its footing and modernize. The victory boosted military and national morale, and helped establish a sense of national unity. The Mexican president at the time declared May 5th a holiday. (Victory would be short-lived, however, as the French Army returned the following year, taking Mexico City and subsequently occupying the country. In 1865, after the American Civil War had come to an end, the U.S. started putting pressure on the French Army, eventually leading to their full withdrawal in 1867.)
Today, May 5th is not a national holiday in Mexico, and Cinco de Mayo is only truly celebrated in Puebla and a few other areas. What’s more, the day is referred to not as Cinco de Mayo but as El Día de la Batalla de Puebla. In other words, Cinco de Mayo has in many ways become a de facto American holiday. It makes sense, in a way: although historical “what ifs" might be seen as fruitless, some historians argue that if the Mexican Army had been defeated on that fateful day, the French Army could have taken the country a year earlier—potentially affecting the outcome of the Civil War, and indeed, the future of America. In other words, from a historical perspective, Cinco de Mayo was a watershed moment for the entire continent.
May 5th is also a day when many American kids learn about the history of the U.S.-Mexican relations in school. For Americans in general, however, Cinco de Mayo is not so much a day for contemplating counterfactual histories but rather a day of eating tacos and drinking tequila. This interpretation is the handiwork of beer companies, which saw the day as a business opportunity and began aggressively promoting it beginning in the 80s. Americans love any excuse to go for a drink. Case in point: people who refer to the day as “Cinco de Drinko" or “Drinko de Mayo". It’s an unfortunate irony that a day that originally commemorated the Mexican Army’s victory over its potential French colonizers is now a day where Mexican culture is culturally appropriated by Americans.
2.Joined at the Hip: Mexico and the U.S.
Despite Cinco de Mayo’s reputation today as a boozy holiday, it is also a day for Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans to celebrate their roots—much as St. Patrick’s Day is a day for Irish-Americans to celebrate theirs.
To understand those roots, it’s important to have a grasp of the many ups and downs of the history of the American continent. The Mexican War of Independence—which called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico—started in 1810, and the country finally achieved its independence on September 27th, 1821. In subsequent years there was an influx of American settlers (referred to as Texians) into Mexican Texas. The Texians, along with the Mexican settlers (referred to as Tejanos), rebelled against the attempts by the Mexican government to centralize authority in Mexico City. The political and cultural clashes reached a peak in 1835, sparking the Texas Revolution and resulting in Mexican Texas breaking with Mexico.
Then in 1845, the new Republic of Texas was annexed by the U.S., which triggered the Mexican-American War. In just two years, however, the American Army defeated the Mexican Army and captured Mexico City. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, marked an end to the war. The settlement gave the U.S. ownership of California and much of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado. In exchange, the U.S. paid Mexico 15 million dollars (equivalent to 430 million dollars today).
Given this historical context, it should come as no surprise that Mexican culture—and even Spanish culture—left a lasting influence in the Southwestern U.S. The name California, for example, was originally the name of a fictional island that appears in a Spanish chivalric romance written in the beginning of the 16th century. The 21 Spanish missions that run along the length of the state were built as religious outposts by the Catholic priests of the Franciscan order. They surviving missions still serve as places of worship and have become some of the state’s most-visited historical sites.
In southern Texas, the shared history has given rise to Tex-Mex culture. This term came into widespread use in the latter half of the 20th century to denote American-style Mexican cuisine—foods like nachos, hard shell tacos, and burritos. More generally, the term refers to the collective culture that developed through the coming together of Mexican and American cultural elements. For example, the roots music of the region that remains hugely popular with Mexican-Americans is called Tejano music or Tex-Mex music. Well-known musicians of the genre include Mexican-American singer and “Queen of Tejano music" Selena, and the guitarist Ry Cooder, who is known for his deep interest in American roots music.
When Mexico ceded lands to the U.S. in 1848, many of the Mexican settlers in the regions chose to remain and become American citizens. Just one year later, gold was discovered northeast of Sacramento (the current state capitol), and the resulting Gold Rush brought an influx of people looking to make a fortune into the state. The miners flooded in from the American East, Mexico, and around the world. The racial friction would result in the lynching of a significant number of Mexican-Americans. The news of the Mexican army’s victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862 lifted the spirits of the Mexican-American settlers. Then in the middle of the 20th century, amid the Chicano civil rights movement, Cinco de Mayo would again prove to strengthen the bonds of solidarity among the Mexican-American community.
3.English Words of Spanish Origin
Historical context is also important to understanding why there are so many place names and words used in daily conversation in the U.S. that have Spanish roots.
For example, “cafeteria", “plaza", and “patio" are all words used in Spanish. And the bodegas—Spanish for wine cellar—that have historically played a central role for communities in New York City? The first bodegas in the city were opened in the mid-20th century by Puerto Rican immigrants.
Let’s not forget “siesta", which means nap, and “fiesta", which means party. When you want someone working under you to be quick about a task, you tell them you need it done “pronto". If any person or situation seems particularly mad or crazy, the word “loco" just rolls off the tongue. And Japanese readers will be familiar with “cockroaches" and “mosquitos"—both words with Spanish roots.
Perhaps more surprising is the fact that so many words used to refer to cowboy culture—often thought of as being quintessentially American—are of Spanish origin. Words that evoke the Wild West, like “ranch" or “rodeo", as well as “desperado", “renegade", and “vigilante", have Spanish roots. And the word “macho", used to mean “masculine in an aggressive way" (or in Japan, “attractively muscular"), means “male" in Spanish.
It’s interesting to note that the fictional character Zorro, who evokes many of the aforementioned words, was created by an American novelist, albeit based on real-life outlaw Joaquin Murrieta.
4.Will Japan Ever Experience a Mexican Food Craze?
When I moved to Tokyo in 2006 after graduating college, the American expat community had one shared grievance: that Tokyo, one of the world’s great foodie cities, lacked a reasonably priced Mexican restaurant. Whenever I would meet up with a friend who worked on Yokosuka Naval Base, he would bring bags full of tacos from Taco Bell. (At the time, the chain had withdrawn from the Japanese market, but outposts remained. And yes, that’s how desperate I was for tacos.) In recent years, however, a string of reasonably-priced Mexican restaurants have opened in Tokyo, heralding a low-key golden age for Mexican cuisine in Japan.
It’s important to note, however, that the distinction between Mexican cuisine and American-style Mexican cuisine (aka Tex-Mex) is a blurry one. Hard shell tacos, burritos, and fajitas are all technically Tex-Amex. And although nachos were first prepared just south of the border, it has since become a Tex-Mex staple.
In other words, when American expats decry the lack of good Mexican food, what they often mean is that they want their Tex-Mex fix. Thankfully, our options are growing, with the return of Taco Bell and joints like Guzman y Gomez in Shibuya and Harajuku. Though it might not constitute an authentic Mexican food craze, things are looking up for Tex-Mex loving American expats.
Recently, I’ve come across more and more Japanese izakayas that have nachos and tacos on the menu. Japan loves its small-plated tapas-style dining, and adapting these foods to Japanese tastes seems to be working, slowly but surely. Incidentally, this affinity for izakaya culture is likely why you can find Spanish bars pretty much everywhere in Tokyo these days.
Also, let’s not forget the Okinawa-style Mexican dish “taco rice", a staple at cafes across the country. And taco-flavored tortilla chips and other snacks, in all their various shapes and forms, line the shelves at supermarkets and convenience stores. Authentic tacos have yet to make it big in Japan, but faux tacos are certainly all the rage.
Finally, Tokyo does have its share of authentic Mexican restaurants—they’re just not the kind to draw attention to themselves. My favorites are: La Casita in Daikanyama, which has been in business since 1976 (La Casita closed in January 2021), and La Jolla in Hiroo, which has been in business since 1987. I also recommend Tepito in Shimokitazawa, which serves up Mexican dishes made with a kaiseki cuisine spirit, and Los Tacos Azules in Kamiuma, which has a great omakase course that combines Japanese ingredients with tacos made with heirloom corn sourced directly from Mexico. These last two have a uniquely Japanese take on authentic Mexican cuisine. Taken all together, perhaps there is a Mexican food craze going on after all, slowly but surely endearing itself to the Japanese.
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La Jolla
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Tepito
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Los Tacos Azules
5.My Wardrobe This Week
Cufflinks by MFYS
Dark red long socks by Tabio
Gray suit jacket by Global Style
Dark red contrast collar shirt by Takashimaya
Orange chinos by Brooks Brothers
Brown belt by Brooks Brothers
