Since there was no dancing, Maggie Jamison did her own dance with the tong castanets.
Cherlyn Conway
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that commemorates the Mexican Army victory over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This holiday often gets confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated in September. It was interesting to find out that Cinco de Mayo is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, not a national holiday, and is primarily observed in the State of Puebla where it is celebrated with parades and festive events. Franklin D. Roosevelt helped in bringing Cinco de Mayo celebrations to the U.S., and in 2005, May 5 was recognized as a national holiday in the U.S.
In my research, I found it eloquently stated that in celebrating Cinco de Mayo, we not only commemorate historical events, but that people come together to embrace and demonstrate respect for Mexican culture. The day is filled with delicious food, vibrant music, energetic dancing, and a joyful atmosphere. It is a time to immerse oneself in the diverse aspects of Mexican culture.
NxNW wanted to be part of this celebration and took to the Willet Court cul-de-sac with colorfully decorated tables to create a day filled with delicious food, vibrant music, games, and a joyful atmosphere. The music was all cued up for the energetic dancing, but there was to be no Mexican hat dancing, Macarena, Chicken Dance, line dancing, or use of castanets and maracas, since Mother Nature decided to put a damper on that with temperatures rising into the 90s by mid-afternoon.
As the Texas Toss boards were being set up and preparations made for the tournament, neighbors arrived with their appetizers, side dishes, and desserts to complement the main course of chicken and beef fajitas with all the fixings. As is common with the neighbors and friends on Osprey, Brant, Cinnamon, and Willet, the food was amazing and plentiful.
Teams were divided this year into two groups: the Hombres (men) and the Damas (women), with teams of two. All the teams played in the scorching heat in a double-elimination for prizes for first, second, and third place. Even though the heat was wearing the teams down, the competition was still fierce, and the medical professionals in our neighborhood were starting to get concerned for the participants.
With the heat being the biggest factor in dictating when our celebration was over, the heat could not damper the spirit of this great neighborhood in getting together for fun, fellowship, and to help in the celebration of this important holiday. This writer is humbled that I came away with a new perspective to this holiday and why the celebrations are so plentiful and how important this holiday is to Mexican culture. NxNW was proud to be a part of your special celebration!