Community Organizing

Latinos Say "Hands Off Our Holiday"

Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo (With Pride), a project of Latinos and Latinas for Health Justice (LLHJ), recently earned national media for the second year in a row. The California-based campaign to reclaim an historic Mexican festival from exploitation by beer and spirits producers grew to include activities in 17 California counties, 24 cities and four other states. Participants sponsored alcohol-free Cinco de Mayo Celebrations, passed public proclamations promoting the true historical significance of the holiday, and invited retailers to protect the cultural integrity of the festival by refusing to display signs and in-store promotions that use Cinco de Mayo to sell beer and liquor.

"Our ultimate goal," says Bernardo Rosa, Southern California Chairperson of LLHJ, "is to train Latino communities across America to recognize and reject the exploitation of their celebrations by alcohol promotion." Rosa points to two accomplishments as evidence that the group has made progress toward its goal: California State University at Northridge will include LLHJ's press release describing Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo in the next edition of its Chicano Studies text book; and the Los Angeles Unified School District has adopted LLHJ's Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo (With Pride) training tools (including a power point presentation, training video, community action kit, and samples of organizing tools including letters to the editor, municipal and county proclamations and press releases) for use by students and teachers.

Rosa is particularly proud of the high level of youth involvement in this year's efforts. Young people created the campaign poster and mapped the location of alcohol outlets and culturally exploitive advertising in their communities. Youth organized their own press event in Los Angeles to announce the LAUSD decision to adopt LLHJ's training materials. Students as young as middle school age approached merchants to ask them not to display Cinco de Mayo-themed promotions for beer and liquor.

Part of LLHJ's commitment to reclaiming Cinco de Mayo is rooted in its recognition that culture can be a protective factor in reducing youth health risks. Rosa cites the work of Hawkins and Catalano [citation] who have documented the importance of protective factors at six levels individual, peer, family, community, work/school and society/environment. "Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo (With Pride)," says Rosa, "is an opportunity to integrate protective cultural modalities at all of these levels."

The city of San Diego, which hosts one of the largest Cinco de Mayo festivals in the country, accomplished a major policy victory when it banned alcohol and tobacco sponsorship from its annual celebration and found alternate sources of funding. Organizers of Cinco de Mayo Con Orgullo (With Pride) are determined to build critical mass for the adoption of policy initiatives at the state and national level as well. The group met in late May to debrief the 2003 campaign and strategize for the coming year.

Get more information on the campaign Web site, sign on to the listserve for updates on the 2004 campaign, and show your support by listing your organization under "Allies and Friends."

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