Published in The Wall Street Journal

Cinco is as American as apple pie. So is the U.S. Hispanic melting pot?

By Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow

 
People who associate Cinco de Mayo celebrations with the Mexican heritage of the United States are missing the point. Cinco de Mayo was created in the U.S. for the U.S. It has always been a uniquely American way to express the identity of Hispanounidenses, the “Hispanics of the United States.”

Exactly how Cinco de Mayo turned into the signature celebration of the United States’ 52 million Hispanics is a bit of a mystery—especially since it is hardly celebrated in Mexico outside of the State of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo has no association with Mexican independence. It commemorates a battle on May 5, 1862, in which the Mexican army vanquished the well-equipped French forces of Napoleon III.

No one knows exactly why Hispanics in California began celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the end of the 1860s. Nor does anyone understand why, a century later, the Chicano movement picked it up as an expression of their demands for civil rights—although that association did make the celebration even more truly American. Read the whole article »

Nuevo Mundo Television host Ginella Díaz interviewed Julie and Jean-Benoît about the making of The Story of Spanish for the show La Voz Latina in Spanish.

Julie explains the origins of the word España (Spain) in less than twenty seconds.
 

By Jean-Benoît Nadeau

 
This week, Floridians celebrate the 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de León’s landing in Florida on Easter day, April 2, 1513. This event, which kickoffs the European presence in North America, is also the first event of the so-called “forgotten century” of American history. Throughout the 16th century (and until the 19th century), the United States-to-be were explored and settled by Spaniards and Mexicans, who left a profound mark on the United States’ geography and culture.

Read more about the 500^th anniversary of Ponce de León’s arrival in America »

Read more about the Hispanic heritage in the United States »

By Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow

Painting by: Victor Federico Mendoza Limón

On March 21^st Mexicans celebrate the birthday of Benito Juárez. Nowadays, his picture is usually found next to the Virgin’s in family shrines in Mexico.

President of Mexico from 1858 to 1872, Juárez was a liberal and the first head of state who managed to create some sort of stability in the country during a very agitated century.

However, this is not the primary reason why the president is revered.

Benito Júarez was the first Native American to rise to the pinnacle of power since Moctezuma, and the first to do so in the Western hemisphere since the arrival of Columbus. This is undoubtedly significant in a country that was – and remains – predominantly native and mestizo. Read more »

By Jean-Benoît Nadeau & Julie Barlow

Pope Francis

The new pope Francis is an Argentine of Italian descent and a Jesuit to boot – all of which highlights some fascinating, and even contradictory, aspects of the story of Spanish in Latin America.

Our book, the Story of Spanish, in a way, explains why the first Latin American Pope is from Argentina.

With at least 40% of believers, and closer to 50% if you include North Americans, the Catholic Church’s center of gravity is clearly west of the Atlantic Ocean.

This is largely due to the work of Spanish missionaries. Curiously, Spanish missionaries had tremendous success in the New World because the Church succeeded in creating a brand of syncretic Catholicism that integrated many features of native cultures. In addition, the Church protected the natives against abuse from conquistadores and colonial powers. Read more »