Blog: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the Port Jefferson Free Library

Cinco de Mayo - a celebration of Mexican heritage and culture - commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over the French at the village of Puebla. The victory under General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin raised the spirits of the Mexican people.

There are many ways you can celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Mexican heritage and culture at the.

Language

Why not start off by learning Spanish with Mango Languages? (Please note you must have a computer with sound capabilities to use Mango.)

You can access Mango languages directly from the Library’s homepage. Just click on the grey box that says "Learn a Language." It is in the first row of boxes directly under the Library’s photograph.

For those of you who access Mango from home, be sure to click the orange box that says "Use Mango from Outside the Library." You will be asked to enter your library barcode and password. For information on creating a password please click here. You will be offered the option to create a Mango profile to keep track of your progress. From the list of languages click "Spanish" and then follow the onscreen prompts. Buena suerte! (Good Luck!)

Music

Listen to the music of Selena, the Tejano singer.

For those who don’t know,Tejano music’s roots are found in South and Central Texas. The musical genre synthesizes traditional Mexican music with the Polka and Germanic musical styles of European immigrants who settled in Texas. Here is a video of Selena performing one of her biggest Spanish Language hits, "Como La Flor." For more Selena check out the CD of her greatest hits.

Art

Mexican art has a long history back to the Aztecs and beyond, but two of its most well known artists worked in the 20th Century, the couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Diego Rivera was known his for massive murals that incorporated traditional Mexican imagery with Socialism. His monumental murals were displayed not on in Mexico but also in Detroit and New York.

Frida Kahlo’s art is her autobiography. There is an emphasis on self portraits as well as works that depicted her conflicted feeling about having a German father and a Mexican mother, and her tempestuous marriage with Rivera. Despite their dark and complex subject matter the works are always brightly colored and crisply drawn and show great beauty along with great suffering.

Frida Kahlo has become a popular figure in fiction. The following books feature Frida and/or her husband Diego Rivera as characters. 

1. Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

2. In the Casa Azul

3. Frida: A Novel by Barbara Mujica

4. The Years with Laura Diaz by Carlos Fuentes

Movies

Two well known actors from Mexico are Salma Hayek and Demian Bichir. Salma Hayek has been seen in such major films as Dogma, Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, and Frida in which she portrayed Frida Kahlo. 

Demian Bichir first came to America’s attention on the hit series Weeds. He played the charismatic and cruel Esteban. He also starred in the film A Better Life.

Some other notable Mexican films have included:

1. Y Tu Mama Tambien

2. Pan’s Labyrinth

3. Amores Perros

Hopefully these suggestions will inspire you to share the spirit of Cinco de Mayo this year.