Happy Cinco de Mayo...right?

So, I hope everyone enjoyed Cinco de Mayo. Quick Quiz! What is the meaning of Cinco de Mayo? Mexican Independence Day? A reason to get drunk? Day of the grape Harvest?

Nope, wrong. BZZZZ! Times up. Minus one for the gringos. Thats right. Its none of the above.

Cinco de Mayo is actually in rememberance of a battle in the Mexican city of Puebla. The Mexican army defeated Napeoleon and all his French troops, who were like ten times bigger than the mexican rebels. The theorey goes that if the Mexicans would have lost this battle to the French, the United States would not exist. Seeing as that this happened during the American Civil War and France would have support the Confederate Amries if it were to be a new ruling power in the area, it is not only an important day for Mexicans but for Americans as well.

Cinco de Mayo. Is it celebrated in Panama? Mexico is along ways from here. Well, We have a whole plaza in the middle of Downtown called, check this, Plaza Cinco de Mayo. It must be an important day here in Panama as well.

Becky and I walk into the office on Friday and she says to everyone, HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! She gets a few wierd smiles and one of the pastors says, Becky, its not really a happy day. Puzzled and slightly embrassed, Becky asks well, why?

Cinco de May o is actually a sad day in Panamanian History. When the republic was first starting, and the firemen were not all that well trained, there was a huge fire. Hundreds of firemen died, and so Cinco de Mayo has become quite a day of reverence for Firemen in general.

So, knowing this, we had our tyipcial tequila drinks but made a toast to the Panamanian Firefighters.

keep learning...