When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Cinco de Mayo

In One California Town, a Holiday Co-Opted by Beer Companies Has Roots in a Celebrated Citrus Crop

What’s with Cinco de Mayo, anyways?

Corporate advertisers treat it as the de facto Mexican Day, if not Latino Day, in this country. In 1998, the United States Post Office issued a Cinco de Mayo stamp featuring two folklórico dancers. In 2005, Congress passed a resolution making Cinco de Mayo an official national holiday to celebrate Mexican-American heritage. And it’s customary for presidents to celebrate Cinco de Mayo on the White House lawn with margaritas flowing, mariachi music playing, and dancers in brightly colored traditional costumes.

Don’t they all know …

by José M. Alamillo | May 5, 2015

Who Invented the Chimichanga?

In Tucson, Arizona, Giving Birth to the Deep-Fried Burrito Is a Point of Pride

by Cary Kelly | May 1, 2015

One afternoon while I was navigating the clogged freeways of Phoenix, a fierce argument erupted in the back of my car.

“Of course the chimichanga was invented in Tucson!” yelled one …

Where You Can Find Hmong Shamans, Oaxacan Tamales, and the Blues

In the City of Merced, Cultural Gems Come From All Over—But They Can Now Be Found on One Map

by Russell C. Rodríguez | December 13, 2014

A wall of sound often emanates from an open classroom at the Merced Lao Family Community Center. It’s bagpipe-like and pulsating—the sound of a half-dozen boys practicing the qeej (pronounced …

Creating a Mexican-Afro-Cuban-American Beat

The Rhythms I Play and Dance Collided on the American Continent—Then I Made Them My Own

by Martha Gonzalez | December 5, 2014

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival was in full bloom on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in late June. Audiences flocked to different stages and exhibits that shared the finest …

Home Is Where the Border Is

Living in the Space Between Two Countries Forces You to Rethink Your Definition of Community

by Felipe Hinojosa | November 21, 2014

As soon as I spot the rows of palm trees lining Highway 77, I know I’ve arrived home. That’s the point where I roll down my windows to feel the …

The Whitewashing of the Most Visceral Mural of the Chicano Movement

Remembering Roberto Chavez’s L.A. Landmark

by Sybil Venegas | October 10, 2014

In 1974, artist Roberto Chavez painted a 200-by-30-foot mural called The Path to Knowledge and the False University at East Los Angeles College, where he was a professor of Chicano …

mexican american