Chicano/Latino Holidays

12/07/13
Chicano Studies
Chicano/ Latino Holidays Holidays are days of festivity or recreation in which work is normally canceled and families or friends get together and celebrate for a certain purpose. Within separate cultures the holidays or celebrations may be different. For example within the Jewish culture those who follow that religion may celebrate Hanukkah. Within my research paper I will be covering the holidays that the Chicano or Latino culture celebrates. For example holidays such as Cinco De Mayo, Cesar Chavez Day, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and Quinceaneras are celebrated heavily within the Chicano/ Latino communities. Cinco de Mayo or otherwise none as the fifth of May, “commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over France during 1862 at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco- Mexican War (1861-1867)”. This holiday is relatively minor within Mexico; in the United States Cinco de Mayo has become a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, which could partake in eating Mexican food, dancing to Mexican music, or participating in any other types of Mexican culture during the holiday. Cinco de Mayo is normally only celebrated within heavy Latino culture areas rather than other cultured areas.
Cesar Chavez day is the celebration of Cesar Chavez the leader and founder of the United Farm Workers.
The United Farm Workers is a workers union for many farm workers simply because of the way they were mistreated with unfair wages and harsh working conditions. Cesar Chavez grew up as a farm worker and his family was very poor with little to no water and hardly no food. Cesar Chavez day is a state holiday in California and is an optional state holiday in Texas, and all government offices are closed as well as educational institutions and many businesses are closed. The Holiday is celebrated with some marches in remembrance towards all of Cesar Chavez acts towards worker’s rights, fair wages, pension benefits, and medical
coverage. Dia de los Muertos otherwise known as Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st and it honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations. It’s a Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores. Dia de los Muertos celebrates the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities that their deceased friends and family enjoyed. The holiday recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience and is overall a small mourning experience but a celebration towards their awaked sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones. One of the most familiar symbols of Dia de los Muertos would be the calacas and calaveras which are skeletons and skulls, which would be seen in candied sweets, as parade masks, or dolls as enjoying life. Quinceaneras are a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday, marking her passage from childhood to adulthood. The celebrations highlight God, family, friends, music, food, and dance within family and friends. In Cuban, Puerto Rican, Central and South American and the custom can be referred to as a Quince (XV) Anos. The tradition normally begins with religious ceremonies and is normally upheld within in a home or a banquet hall. These festivities include food and music, and at most a choreographed waltz or dance performed by the Quinceanera and her court. Some girls might also choose to take a trip abroad rather than a party which is now a new option simply because of how technology has improved allowing these options towards young women. Within the Chicano Latino heritage these holidays and celebrations are merely shaped though ethnic traditions. It supports of how much of Latino/ Chicano heritage supports around family and friends for example within Dia de las Muertoes they celebrate family and friends deaths and same goes for Quinceaneras. Holidays are also celebrated within every type of race, ethnicity, or class and always are normally celebrations to bring out positive emotions.