Still putting off my blogs in epic fashion, but tomorrow starts our weekend, so it's time to make the most of an office day and get caught up!
Of course last Friday was Cinco De Mayo, so we had to do Mexico. Although, truth be told, Cinco De Mayo isn't really a thing in Mexico. Some people confuse it with like a 'Mexico 4th of July', but their independence day is celebrated on September 16th.
Basically the 5th of May is when the Mexican army won an unlikely battle against a much larger French army (who at the time was considered one of the most impressive armies in the world). The battle of Pueblo took place on May 5, 1862 during the French intervention in Mexico, aka where Napoleon III thought it would be fun to try and take over Mexico (Oh and not that Napoleon, it was later- the first Napoleon's nephew or something). It's basically a celebration of the underdog, and is only really celebrated in Mexico in Pueblo, the state where the battle took place.
But anyway, here in America, and we'll find any excuse to throw a party, and have some drinks!
It was first celebrated in Southern California in 1863 (the year after the battle), to show solidarity with Mexico against French rule. And it continued year after year.
By the 1930's it was a way to celebrate Mexican identity and tolerance for a different ethnicity.
By the 50's and 60's the holiday was used to build Mexican-American pride.
By the 80's it was commercialized on a wide scale.
And by 2017 it was the reason the Margarita Mix shelf at Publix was barren.
The 'big' countries are always a little weird for me. I feel like I should do them in some grand fashion, but then I realize the boys already know plenty about them, so maybe it's just an opportunity to take a break, gloss them over and move on.
I mean, we've been to Costa Maya, Mexico and to Cozumel, Mexico. (and we've only been to three other countries!)
We're still adjusting to Asa's new schedule (I am not convinced I'm going to like him having Friday's off), so not only was it Mexico day and Cinco De Mayo, it was also our weekend, so we were out and about (we had Cinco De Moes for lunch and then headed out to Busch Gardens for the afternoon.
When we got home, though, we did a quick Mexico lesson.
For the most part, Americans visit Mexico all the time without any problems. But the US Department of State does have a travel warning because of criminal organizations in certain areas.
If you lived in Mexico, you would be 5 times more likely to be murdered, and experience over a 7% increase in class divide. But, you'd also be almost 33% more likely to be employed, and 70% less likely to be in prison. (We sure do like Ifitweremyhome.com )
Our landmark was Acapulco, the original Mexican resort town. It's not as popular as it once was for a Spring Break destination, but they do still have the famous cliff divers. Since 1934, divers have leapt off cliffs 136 feet above the Pacific Ocean, landing in an 11 foot deep inlet. The divers have attracted tourists for decades.
The capital isn't even a hard one to learn. Mexico City, however, is sinking by up to 11 inches a year, as the large population drains water from the aquifer on which the city is built. (Mexico City ranks in the top 10 of most densely populated cities in the world).
We talked Chichen Itza, the large city the Mayan people built around the year 600, the one billion monarch butterflies that end their migration from Canada somewhere in west central Mexico every year, and the land which includes famous beaches, tropical forests and volcanic mountains.
You also can't talk Mexico on Cinco De Mayo without at least mentioning tequila. It's the National Drink of Mexico, and is made from cactus that grow around the town of Tequila.
The boys made their Mexico postcards.
Calib's featured a mariachi band, cliff divers, cactus and the asteroid that crashed landed in Mexico 65 million years ago, you know, that one that killed the dinosaurs.
Peyton's featured the butterfly migration, and the 'Day of the Dead' celebration that Mexicans celebrate every year in November. (Relatives are believed to return home where they are honored with flowers and food, and people celebrate in graveyards).
Hayden's was the only postcard to feature the Cave of Crystals we talked about. The crystals growing in the cave are the largest natural crystals to be found on earth. The cave itself, is located 984 feet underground, and it's said to be the hottest in the world at 111 degrees.
For dinner we took a little help from Trader Joes. We had the roasted corn and churros done for us. Plus since it was Cinco De Mayo, we got the guacamole on a great deal- and one very helpful Publix employee finally led us to the queso fresco (apparently Publix is the only store around us that carries it).
But in addition to that we also made Mango and Cheese salad, Roasted Sweet Potato Fries, and some Trader Joe's Tamales. Of course we couldn't have Mexico dinner without Margaritas, but the boys asked if they could have Strawberry Daquiris instead, and I obliged. (Non-alcoholic of course).
Dinner earned five spoons up... because, yum!
The corn was a tiny bit spicy for me, but not too bad- and the salad was simple but delicious.
And you guys my plan to keep having everyone try sweet potato fries really worked out. They loved these (also who knew guacamole went so well on top?!)
The tamales were popular with everyone but Hayden, but we did lose Calib on the churros (he's still trying to figure out how to eat with braces.) No worries though, Hayden didn't let Calib's go to waste. They did a swapsies with the tamales and churros and all was right with the world.
We colored in Mexico, which really helped North America not look so empty.
70 down, 123 to go!
Next Up: Cape Verde
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