Happy Cinco de Mayo 2009!

HERE WE ARE AGAIN! Cinco de Mayo, the bastard stepchild of holidays. The holiday that Mexican@s celebrate in small numbers, Average Americans® celebrate in vast, Corona-drenched masses, and that the bloggerati never hesitate to scoff at in order to show how much more in the know they are! Oh, pobrecito Cinco de Mayo!

Being my romantic and ideal self, I of course generally point out the origins and why that makes me feel so proud. I write of rebellion/resistance and how it applies to modern day invasions and occupations. And then, I’ll also just crank up the tunes and have fun, too.

But this year the Latino Politics blog is determined to ruin my fun! Reminding me of how gente are affected disproportionately by alcohol marketing and the industry…

… Dr. Keryn Pasch stated, “According to previous studies, Hispanic youth are at higher risk for alcohol use than either white or African American youth. Exposure to alcohol advertising has been shown to increase alcohol use and intention to use alcohol, and marketers are aggressively capitalizing on the rapidly growing Hispanic population, targeting their marketing efforts at this group.”

Additionally, the study found that alcohol advertising is uniquely catered to specific ethnic groups. Alcohol consumption advertising near schools with 20% or more Hispanic students tends to use the culture of the neighborhood. So with Latino communities, you see more ads incorporating Mexican flags, sports heroes, and celebrities. These carefully crafted ads build brand recognition with young people, putting them at an increased risk for substance abuse from an early age.

According to the US Health and Human Services for people 12 years and older, Hispanics have a 10% rate of substance abuse, which is lower than Native Americans (19%), but higher than the rate for whites (9.2%) and African-Americans (9%). Substance abuse providers have historically seen more substance abuse in acculturated Latinos than in those who are recent immigrants. However, they are now seeing more immigrants turning to alcohol and substance abuse in coping with difficult immigrant experiences. We have already seen an increase in violent crime targeting Latinos, and often alcohol accompanies these incidences.

—Drowning our Misery with Cerveza this 5 de Mayo

Ouch. When you tie this to the fact that more people of color will be targeted by the police and shot by the police and incarcerated by the police and often alcohol is involved in those incidents as well as in the hate crime attacks that rain down upon raza…. It’s a bit of an ugly picture that begins to form.

And then, just as we are ready to get down and crack a few Negra Modelos on Cinco de Mayo con nuestra querida raza, we are forced to remember who is affiliated and who benefits from these alcohol giants and their finely-targeted marketing.

In large part, organizations like MALDEF, NCLR, and even LULAC are not grassroots in terms of their donor databases. In Los Angeles , the MALDEF office is in a building sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, as is evidenced by its wall signage. NCLR is corporate partner with Coors Brewing Company and Miller Brewing Company. LULAC’s corporate alliance partners include both Anheuser-Busch and Coors. These organizations have been built and bolstered by donations from the very companies who cleverly target our young people.

—Drowning our Misery with Cerveza this 5 de Mayo

Oh. What a tangled mess. These are the very organizations that work in the service (or at least under the banner) of helping our people. This is becoming very disappointing to think about.

Especially disappointing is that NCLR’s policy page  “deals primarily with obesity and nutrition, but noticeably absent is any information about alcoholism.”

I want, here, to thank the Latino Politics blog for keepin’ it real. That’s one UMX fist in the air for ya, simón!

Sooner or later, or even over and over, there will be a hard choice in how much compromise to make in the path of helping your own people. This is a windswept path, and one you must travel alone. Walk it carefully and choose thoughtfully. We see how these compromises potentially lead to perversion of the very honorable goal they seek to attain.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Let us drink or dance or both, but let us at least try to keep this festive spirit alive in the name of resistance in the face of great odds! And no, that doesn’t apply to resisting the neighbors when they tell you to turn it down! Okay, yes it does! GO!

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Update: Given the symbolism of the holiday, I find this latest symbol of enforcement of FeCal upon the people of México just a bit disturbing:

For the first time in decades, the re-enactment of the Battle of Puebla, Mexico’s May 5, 1862 victory over French forces, was called off to avoid contagion-prone crowds. It was replaced by a somber ceremony featuring President Felipe Calderon, other officials and a small number of soldiers. Surrounding streets were empty.