Cinco De Mayo - Revisited
Dan and I find it hard to believe, but we have actually been in Brussels long enough to celebrate a "2nd Annual" something or another. In this case, it was one of our favorite holidays, Cinco de Mayo, and, as fate would have it, I actually have a blog post from a year ago that I can use to benchmark our progress! (See May 2006 archives.) http://newtobrussels.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html
Last year, when I invited guests to the Cinco de Mayo party, they asked when it was. This year, we had about 25 people attend and not once did I have to tell someone beforehand that the Cinco de Mayo party would be held on the 5th of May.
Last year, my Scottish friend, Sue, asked what she could bring to the party and I suggested a pinata, as I had been unable to locate one in Brussels, even after calling the Mexican Embassy. She searched (in vain) in various liquor stores for pinata liquor. I'm happy to report that Sue's knowledge of the Mexican culture has improved dramatically over the past year, as well as her appreciation (but, apparently, not her tolerance!) of tequila . This year, she spotted a pinata in a store in Aberdeen, Scotland, which, of course, meant that I had to fly to Scotland to check out the pinata selection. So, as further evidence that my world is flat, I purchased a donkey pinata in Scotland for my Mexican celebration in Belgium. (Lupe, don't think for a second that this pinata is going to go the way of the Mermaid one!)
Last year, I was muy feliz to find a store in Brussels that sold sombreros. This year, two guests arrived wearing sombreros! Now that's progress - Ole!
Last year, I could not find sweet and sour mix for margaritas. Over this past year, I've discovered the Grare Food Store outside of Antwerp, which carries sweet and sour mix, an absolute necessary ingredient for Cindyritas. This place has been nothing short of a God-send, so I'm very reluctant to say anything negative about it, but, since "reluctant" does not mean "unwilling," here it goes: Why would the store that markets itself as the place to buy American and Mexican food products in Belgium be closed the week before one of the biggest Mexican/American holidays? What mental genius prepared that vacation schedule? [In the event the store was closed from May 1-1o for a family emergency or something along those lines, please see my previous comment about "God-send" and "reluctant"!]
Last year, my Scottish friend, Sue, asked what she could bring to the party and I suggested a pinata, as I had been unable to locate one in Brussels, even after calling the Mexican Embassy. She searched (in vain) in various liquor stores for pinata liquor. I'm happy to report that Sue's knowledge of the Mexican culture has improved dramatically over the past year, as well as her appreciation (but, apparently, not her tolerance!) of tequila . This year, she spotted a pinata in a store in Aberdeen, Scotland, which, of course, meant that I had to fly to Scotland to check out the pinata selection. So, as further evidence that my world is flat, I purchased a donkey pinata in Scotland for my Mexican celebration in Belgium. (Lupe, don't think for a second that this pinata is going to go the way of the Mermaid one!)
Last year, I was muy feliz to find a store in Brussels that sold sombreros. This year, two guests arrived wearing sombreros! Now that's progress - Ole!
Last year, I could not find sweet and sour mix for margaritas. Over this past year, I've discovered the Grare Food Store outside of Antwerp, which carries sweet and sour mix, an absolute necessary ingredient for Cindyritas. This place has been nothing short of a God-send, so I'm very reluctant to say anything negative about it, but, since "reluctant" does not mean "unwilling," here it goes: Why would the store that markets itself as the place to buy American and Mexican food products in Belgium be closed the week before one of the biggest Mexican/American holidays? What mental genius prepared that vacation schedule? [In the event the store was closed from May 1-1o for a family emergency or something along those lines, please see my previous comment about "God-send" and "reluctant"!]
Vaya con Dios!
posted by Cindy Lane at 7:50 PM
3 Comments:
Point of order in that while Cinco de Mayo is indeed a Mexican holiday (typically winning the battle but loosing the war...) while in the states it's only purpose is to serve as a reason to get sloppy drunk pretending to be something you're not. Which is reason enough to celebrate I suppose...
Maybe he went all the way back to Méjico to party Cinco de Mayo since we had no idea it existed. Invite him next year to your party, he'll stay put then.
Thank God for tequila! And Cindyritas, which are good even without ice.
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