Cinco De Mayo “The New York Way” - By Tushiya Hunter

I didn’t realize how many National Holidays were in the month of May. Some of my favorites are, Mother’s Day (May 12th), National Brother’s and Sister’s Day (May 2nd) and Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).

I recently celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a former colleague of mine in the comfort of her home. I had never celebrated prior, because I felt that I couldn’t. Especially since I didn’t understand the cultural component about the holiday.

Most guest would bring food or beverages to a party, so that’s exactly what I did. I picked up a liter of Vodka and Cranberry mixed with Pomegranate cocktail juice. It was perfect!

When I arrived at the building, I heard music and when I entered the apartment on the third floor, I felt right at home. It was a small, intimate crowd of mostly people from Los Angeles California. The same place that my colleague grew up in. Everyone was dressed casually, except for the host. She wore a traditional Mexican dress with an apron, two slippers and two red flowers in her hair. She was the life of the party, multi- tasking between cooking, making a playlist of funky tunes, and mixing drinks for the guests.

The dress resembled a piece of clothing in Mexico that can be described as huipil, quechque’mitl, or rebozo. The huipil is a sleeveless tunic. One significant fact about Cinco de Mayo in Mexico, is the distinctions of clothing each serve a different purpose and there are many names. For example, in the city of Puebla, there is a dress called “The China Poblano”.

The apartment was fully decorated, it matched the silver wear, plates, bowls, and cups to fit the theme. There were even fake mustache stickers for the male guest to wear and hats or floral headbands for the women to wear. I’d never been to a party like this before, but it won’t be my last. I encourage everyone to have a themed party.

The event lasted for hours, it was roughly 20-30 people that filled the living room space. We each interacted with one another and I honestly felt like no one looked at their phones.

In a world where social media takes up 80% or more of our lives, it was nice to be a space that allowed me to feel like it was non-existent, even if for a moment.

Some of the best authentic Mexican recipes were spread out for the guests, which included Green Pozole with Chicken, Horchata, Guacamole, Cemita Poblano, Huevos Rancheros, Enchiladas Verdes, and Fish Tacos. For drinks, Margaritas (with Passion fruit and Pomegranate), Tequila cocktail (Paloma with grapefruit juice), Beer, Rum, and Sangria. You couldn’t have asked for anything better for my first experience celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

I truly enjoyed myself. I celebrated with a great group of people, ate traditional Mexican dishes and learned elements about the National Holiday I had not known before.