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4 May 2001 - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Let's show them Cinco de Mayo is not a marketing tool

By José A. Alvarez

On May 5, 1862, about 2,000 ill-equipped Mexican soldiers and townspeople led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza managed to hold off a highly trained and better armed force of more than 6,000 French troops in the southern state of Puebla. One year after La Batalla de Puebla (The Battle of Puebla), the French brought in more troops and re-attacked, eventually taking over the country for the next four years.

Even though Mexico lost the war, La Batalla de Puebla came to represent a symbol of unity and patriotism. Now, 139 years later, another battle is being fought. This time it is by the Mexican-American community in the United States against the alcohol industry which has seized the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla as another occasion to market its products and declared Cinco de Mayo as "party time."

"We're saying ¡Basta!, enough," said Victor García, president of the East County Latino Association and a member of the Board of Directors of Communities Against Substance Abuse, a prevention organization. "We're tired of the alcohol industry using our culture and turning our holidays into all-you-can-drink events."

Cinco de Mayo, brought to the United States by Mexican immigrants during the 1920s, grew in importance in the 1960s when the Chicano Movement adopted the holiday as an avenue for generating ethnic pride.

However, its political purpose gradually diminished, opening the holiday to a wider Mexican-American population. In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is recognized as a national holiday and historical turning point, but it is primarily celebrated in Puebla. The holiday is celebrated at a much larger scale in the United States with parades, festivals and many other family activities.

In the 1980s, the beer industry began using Cinco de Mayo to promote its products and increase consumption. In one recent year, the nation's top domestic brewers spent $31 million on Spanish language advertising, a significant amount of that to promoting Cinco de Mayo as a drinking holiday.

The increased promotion of Cinco de Mayo as a "party time" has blurred its significance and confused the public as to the real meaning of the holiday. Many people mistake the holiday for Mexico's independence, which took place on Sept. 16, 1810.

Why did we allow the alcohol industry to take over our holidays and continue to do so? It's time that we all say ¡Basta! And demand that the alcohol marketing behemoth follow its own advice: "Know When to Say When."

With slogans such as "Salud, respeto y control" (health, respect and control) alcohol producers would like us to believe that they are being good corporate citizens. They are not. The only thing they are doing is ripping off our culture and heritage to sell their products.

The research is clear. Alcohol produces disproportionately more negative effects on Latinos than people from other cultures:

	About 23 percent of Mexican-American men are considered heavy, problem drinkers, compared with 12 percent of white men and 15 percent of black men. And, almost 1 in 10 Latino youths (ages 12 to 17) report recent "binge" alcohol use.
	Nationwide, Mexican-American men are nearly twice as likely to get arrested for drunk driving as whites and African-Americans.
	Four out of 10 Mexican-Americans with alcohol-related problems, like liver disease, die before 50, but only three out of 10 whites die that young. The only way we're going to drive these numbers down and keep our people from dying is if we take a stand now. We need to make Cinco de Mayo what it used to be: A traditional family holiday. We can do that by taking the following measures:
	Support positive celebrations with monitoring and enforcement of responsible beverage service.
	Eliminate promotions that encourage heavy alcohol consumption and underage drinking – along with advertisements that demean our culture.
	Create a greater awareness of the negative impacts of alcohol upon the Latino population.
	Promote the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo as an important family holiday rather than a time to "get wasted." The time to overturn this assault on our cultures and traditions is now. Public outcry to restore pride and respect to Cinco de Mayo is long overdue. The battle won't be easy, but it can be won. The people of Puebla proved it 139 years ago. Let's show the alcohol industry that "our culture is not for sale."

Alvarez is a media specialist with Communities Against Substance Abuse.