Every year, Cinco de Mayo becomes trendier and trendier. The holiday is a quintessential part of American culture, con todo y sombreros Made in China and German margarita mixer machines, almost completely disassociated from its original celebration of a victory over a well-equipped French army invading Puebla.
There are several reasons for the popularity of Cinco. Obvio, people are fascinated with the bright colors of our culture, and the drinks get you more lit than your single tía at a cousin’s wedding. Throw in a mariachi doing a cover of a Miley Cyrus song and you got yourself a Party in the EE. UU.
But before you get into mariachi loco quiere bailar mode, take this time to reflect on opportunities for investment in trends, like Cinco, that come from our culture.
Piénsalo– we all know choosing the perfect avocado is a rite of passage for Latinos. When you’re feeling around for that perfect avocado for your guacamole today, just as your mom taught you at the mercado when you were a kid, think about how your little hands were at the forefront of trendsetting for this now multi-billion dollar market. Your toque was magic.
Or how about identifying the qualities of an superb salsa before knowing how to drive? You KNEW a restaurant was good or not by eating their complementary chips and salsa. Your tongue was programmed to look out for the texture– not too watery, not too bland. You might have been a malcriada or malcriado at the time, but your little palette was worth billions to research and development for marketing agencies.
Your childhood kitchen was filled with homemade chips, cut from tortillas that were made from scratch from harina de maíz. Your parents knew the exact amount of salt and a vegetable oil to put in these chips and would consult with YOU to make sure the taste was ok– “a ver amorcito, prueba esto and lemi nó if ees gud.”. This knowledge is currently worth billions.
So yeah Cinco de Mayo is fun, and delicious, and colorful, and tacky, and even scary sometimes, but if our community had collectively invested in this trend years ago, those Made in China sombreros might have been Made in Chiapas, and those German margarita machines might have been mass produced by a Don Germán.
So ándale, ándale– go be a trendsetter and build your wealth where opportunities lie! You know you have the toque for a perfect avocado, and the palette for quality salsa, so trust your gut– it’s time to look for more opportunities! Happy Cinco!