Tales of Mexico in Old Time Radio Collection

Did you realize that Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated North of the border than it is in Mexico? This confusion can be seen as symbolic of the sometimes affectionate, sometimes hostile relationship between "Estados Unidos" and her neighbor to the South.

Many Yankees assume that Cinco de Mayo is analogous to America's Fourth of July Celebration. Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the Cry of Dolores on September 16, 1810, which marked the beginning of Mexico's War of Independence from Spain. Some five decades later, newly elected Mexican President Benito Juarez declared that his poor nation would not be able to meet its foreign debts. This sent diplomatic ripples through the capitals of Spain, England, and France. These nations formed a tripartite alliance which sent troops to invade the port of Vera Cruz in 1861-62. Years of mistrust doomed the alliance, and the Spanish and British fleets soon withdrew in April 1862. Emperor Napoléon III was determined that Mexico would become a vassal to France, and his troops began advancing on Mexico City. Some 8,000 crack French Expeditionary troops met General Ignacio Zaragoza's rag-tag Mexican Army near the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Zaragoza's forces threw back the better equipped and trained French. Eventually, Napoleon III's forces would regroup and push on to Mexico City and install the puppet regime of Emperor Maximillian.

Before being exiled to the north, President Juarez declared Cinco de Mayo a day of historic significance, it is not celebrated as a national holiday in Mexico. However, as the American Civil War approached, the plucky victory of the Mexican troops at la Puebla was well received. More importantly, the conflict in Mexico probably kept France from intervening on the side of the Confederacy.

Notre Americanos have always regarded Mexico with a combination of exotic wonder and superior disdain. For generations, Mexican laborers have come North seeking economic opportunity and often taking jobs deemed too menial for Yankee sensibilities. The poverty and government inefficiency South of the Border meant that Mexico could be a refuge from the law for outlaws in the Old West as well as a source of banditry which could seek prey to the North. As former Mexican Territories, the cultures of economically important California and Texas, along with the rest of the Southwest states, are deeply impacted by Mexican influence.

This sense of romance is readily observed in episodes of Old Time Radio. Lawmen routinely chase bad guys determined to escape across the Rio Grande or foil desperados determined to bring their nefarious plans North. Comedians find plenty to poke fun at in the land of sunshine and tequila, and noble Chicanos risk everything to find opportunity in "The Land of the Free".

See also: Fernando Lamas, Lupe Velez, Carmen Miranda, Tito Guizar, and Xavier Cugat.