Art celebrates Cinco de Mayo — and serves as a protest
Olegario Hernández Mendoza usually celebrates Cinco de Mayo in Mexico, but this year he will spend the holiday at the Clark County Government Center in downtown Las Vegas.
Hernández Mendoza, an indigenous Oaxacan artist was joined by Clark County Commissioners William McCurdy II at a reception on Thursday that unveil his new art exhibit.
Hernández Mendoza’s theme for the exhibit, which will be displayed in the rotunda of the government center through May 15, centers around banning trophy hunting in Mexico.
“We have to continue to celebrate one another’s culture, celebrate our community and celebrate the richness of the diversity of Clark County,” McCurdy said Thursday.
Each painting from the collection is focused on a different animal affected by trophy hunting that is on the path to extinction. The exhibit also includes paintings from Las Vegas Valley students centered on the theme of immigration. They will be joined by the Poblano Federation of Las Vegas with a performance and the Mexican national anthem in Mixtec, the indigenous language in Oaxaca and Puebla. Mariachi Perla Tapatico played in the background as guest get their food and view the art.
“We want to demonstrate our work so that people can recognize our work,” Hernández Mendoza said in Spanish.
The history of Cinco de Mayo
While the U.S. celebrates its independence day on July 4, and Mexico on Sept. 16, Chicanos or Mexican Americans don’t have a similar day to latch onto.
“How does the holiday transfer over to the U.S.?” Julian Escutia Rodriguez, the Consul of Mexico in Las Vegas, asked in Spanish. “(Chicanos and Mexican-Americans looking for their own identity) found it in the battle of Puebla, that is very symbolic of independence, and they made it theirs.”
The battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862, amid the French invasion of Mexico. A group of Mexican soldiers that were not well-equipped for war ultimately defended the city of Puebla against France and its powerful military.
After the dust settled, Mexican forces had killed nearly 500 French soldiers and lost less than 100 of its own soldiers.
Hernández Mendoza agreed that, as an artist fighting back against an issue like trophy hunting, his exhibit underscores the same historical message of the Battle of Puebla.
“This really just show how important it is to display actions of those who are, in one way or another, underdogs,” McCurdy said.
The largest celebration of Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is in Puebla, where the city celebrates its history with reenactments of the battle, according to Escutia Rodriguez.
But Chicanos and Mexican Americans in the U.S. also adopted Cinco de Mayo as a day of celebration in the 1960s and ’70s. The popularization of the holiday has since become commercialized as a day to party, Escutia Rodriguez said. In Mexico, he grew up studying the battle in school, yet there was no celebration in his city.
“There are a lot of Mexicans that don’t necessarily celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but when they get (to the U.S.), they notice that the day is well recognized,” he said. “That’s thanks to the Chicano movement.”
Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0350. Follow @jimi_writes on Twitter.
