I thought I would have a bit of a history geek out for a moment. Friday was Cinco de Mayo, thought of in the States as the Mexican equivalent of St. Paddy's day, and I'm sure everyone had plenty of tequila shots. I myself have a soft spot for the tequila. However most people may not know a few things about the day itself. In fact, I'm ashamed to say, I didn't really know what it was about. I was anticipating Friday fiestas and I was inspired to find out the history behind this particular day. First: no, Cinco de mayo is NOT Mexican Independence day. That's in September (dieciseis de septiembre - say that 3 times fast). Second: the 5th is about the Mexicans driving out the French at the battle of Puebla. Third: Cinco de Mayo is the day after Star Wars day. Oddly enough, cinco de mayo is one of those days where everyone in the US feels they can get drunk even though its a Mexican national holiday. The US gave Mexico a good dose of cash flow problems with a war and taking a large chunk of Mexico which is now most of the western states (including California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Utah - you get the idea). Unable to pay off the debts owed to European nations including France, the debt collectors sent over troops to collect. France decided they were in it for more than the money and set out to take the rest of Mexico.
Star Wars also has something to do with cinco de mayo. The Mexican army was not as well-equipped as the French, but managed to repel Napoleon's army. Very similar to Luke using the Force to help the relatively small and ill-equipped Rebel Alliance. But perhaps not as literally. Instead, the local peasants let loose the fury of the local cow population creating a stampede. Force indeed.
Speaking of, an original unaltered DVD set of Star Wars (Eps IV - VI) is being released this September. I will attempt to keep this rant short. May I say, I am extremely glad an unaltered version is coming. I bought my mom (a die-hard sci fi geek) the 3 VHS set when it came out. Yes, it was VHS. Anyway. To my horror, I found it was the newer version I had seen in the theaters with her. I hated it. The original special effects looked more real than Jabba the Hut slithering next to Han Solo. The new CGI crap looked like - well, crap! I saw a special on A&E the other night and Lucas was talking about how he added all the things he didn't have the money for at the time. I say it was a waste. I'm sure there are plenty who disagree with me. However this is only my opinion. The release is a limited-time gig, so make plans to get it between mid-September and the end of December.
So next year after you have picked up your new shiny version of the un-tampered with original Star Wars and cinco de mayo rolls around again, you will now have some fun trivia to regale your friends with as you commence the tequila extravaganza. May the Fourth be with you y feliz cinco de mayo! Salud!
Links:
Cinco de mayo (Wikipedia is my friend)
What is Tequila?
Star Wars - untampered with goodness
Star Wars
Estaba su Geek Find del dia.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment