More than Mexican holiday

Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the United States have always had a curious flavor, especially for people who have immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Many Americans mistakenly believe the May 5 celebration is all about Mexico's independence from Spain. Not so. That would be Sept. 16, which truly is a big day south of the border.

No, Cinco de Mayo commemorates a battle in 1862, when a small Mexican army successfully defeated a much larger French force at Puebla. The French ultimately won the war, but they didn't rule over Mexico for long.

Mexicans react to the energy with which the holiday is celebrated here the way Americans would react if they went south and found Mexicans celebrating our Labor Day as a great American holiday, rather than the Fourth of July. Except, of course, that Mexicans do tend to hold parades on their own Labor Day. Not so on Cinco de Mayo.

But, as with so many things in life, historical accuracy isn't nearly as important as the underlying symbolism and popular perception. Up here, Cinco de Mayo has come to mean a day to celebrate Hispanic cultures, not just from Mexico, but from all Latin nations. It also is a time to honor heritage and a shared dream of a better life in this free land. In addition, it is a time to reinforce the value of non-Latin Americans learning about and celebrating cultures that are becoming increasingly visible in Americans cities. All of those things are valuable and worthy of a community celebration.

Too many Americans are suspicious of the influx of freedom-seeking immigrants from Latin America. Too many see this as a threat to their own ways of life. This is not a new phenomenon in America. Germans, Swedes, Jews, Catholics, Asians and many others have been similarly demonized through the centuries as they came to these shores. Each was seen as a cultural threat, and as a movement that would steal jobs and usurp political power. And with each, time has proven the anti-immigrant crowd completely wrong.

America is strong because it attracts a steady stream of immigrants who come here with energy and innovative spirits. It has, through the years, found great value in people who were cast aside and dismissed by their homelands.

Of course, illegal immigration is a huge problem that must be controlled. But the growing Hispanic wave, which now accounts for a about a quarter of Utah's population, is not a threat. It represents a new set of Americans anxious to pursue the same dreams everyone else has come here to pursue. That's worth a day of celebration.