Cinco Tips for Celebrating Cinco De Mayo in Brussels
The overwhelming majority of folks over here have no idea what Cinco de Mayo is. Either that, or the French region of Brussels is not big on celebrating the day when a small group of horribly outnumbered Mexicans, armed mostly with machetes, defeated Napoleon's army. I guess it is sort of like celebrating the Fourth of July in London. (By the way, it can be done, but I would recommend against celebrating it with a table of Aussies, because the Hard Rock Cafe doesn't care how long you've waited in line to get in. They will ask you to leave.)
Here's cinco tips for throwing a Cinco de Mayo fiesta in Brussels:
- When inviting a non-US guest, or non-Spanish speaking guest, don't be surprised when they ask you what day the party is. Turns out that there are a lot of people who don't know that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on the 5th of May.
- When your Scottish friend asks you what she can bring, don't tell her a pinata. If you do, at the very least, let her know what a pinata is, so that way she doesn't spend a whole lot of time looking for pinata-flavored liquor! (Sorry, Sue, but it's just too good of a story not to mention!)
- According to the Mexican Embassy in Brussels, there are only 1,000 Mexicans living in all of Belgium. Roughly translated, this means it is stupid to ask the lady at the Embassy, "Can you tell me where Brussels' Hispanic community is because I want to buy some tamales and a pinata?"
- Sombreros are sold at the Picard store on Rue de Lombard and you can buy Corona at the Carrefours by NATO.
- It's impossible to find sweet and sour mix for margaritas!
Vaya con Dios!
posted by Cindy Lane at 10:14 AM
4 Comments:
A Cinco de Mayo Fiesta in Brussels.. how fun!! I'll be moving to Belgium this Aug. should I bring you some sweet & sour mix? ;)
Tylene,
Not only should you bring S&S mix, but I would throw in some mac and cheese, ding dongs, soft toilet paper, dental floss ($$ here), green chiles, tylenol, cans of frosting and boxes of cake mix, cornbread mix, a pinata (or two), pickle relish, and some Velveeta cheese. Other than the pinata, these items make our "bring back" list every trip home!
E-Grrrl said: "I knew I was going to like Cindy when I heard she was looking for a pinata."
All the candy wrappers in the kids pockets were evidence of a VERY good time, even without a pinata. : )
The other secret to celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Brussels is to always have extra taco shells in case the first batch gets burnt. Sometimes BAD things happen to good people as this blog so amply demonstrates.
Now I know what a Pinata is - hic, I will bring two bottles next year!! Looking forward to the de-porty party tomorrow.
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