L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, A May mix of Italian con- nections for you: Benito Mussolini's biography often indi- cates that Italy's former dictator, born July 29, 1883, was named af- ter Benito Juarez, the Mexican rev- olutionary. Many Readers may wonder who was this Benito Juarez fellow? In California, Columbus has been  given the leave on school dis- trict calendars to make room for "Indigenous Peoples Day" and Fifth of May. "Cinco de Mayo" cel- ebrations are observed in many classrooms and many more Bar rooms, (in the 1980s "Cinco de Mayo" was heavily promoted by the alcoholic beverage industry as a way to introduce and sell more brands of tequila in the month of May and throughout the year. The celebration is second only to Sep- tember 16th, Mexican Indepen- dence Day). I will share more info about Cinco de Mayo and Benito Juarez. *** Benito Juarez (1806-1872) was born near Oaxaca, of Zapotec In- dian parents. After many hardships, he studied law and was appointed advocate o the Supreme Court in 1834. He became Liberal Governor of Oaxaca in 1847, and Minister of Justice in the subsequent adminis- tration. After a revolution began in 1858, he assumed the presidency of a troubled Mexico in 1961, and was supported by the U.S. Govern- ment. "Cinco de Mayo" is the date of the anniversary of the Battle of Guadalupe, near Puebla, which was fought to victory in 1862 by a Mex- ican force of about 2.000 against a French force of 6,000. Mexico had defaulted payments on her bonds. An arrangement was made by France, Spain and Eng- land at a conference in London. It was decided in October of 1861 to make a joint naval demonstration. The ships sailed for Vera Cruz and arrived there near the end f 1861. It was announced that there was no intention of conquering Mexico and that nothing was de- sired but a settlement of just claims. *** A conference was arranged with Mexican representatives, and a pre- liminary agreement was made. Thereupon the British and Spanish fleets sailed for home, but the French remained, repeated the agreement and started a war of con- quest. The French army met the Mexicans under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza on May 5th, and was driven back with se- rious losses. Despite the victorious Mexican battle of "Cinco de Mayo" against the French soldiers at Puebla, the French ultimately conquered Mex- ico and ousted Benito Juarez from the presidency. The battle itself was not of great importance, but the vic- tory appealed to the imagination of the Mexicans as they had suc- ceeded, even though temporarily, in resisting foreign invasion. Under the auspices of Napoleon III of France, Maximilian, Arch- duke of Austria, and his Empress Carlotta of Belgium were installed on the Mexican throne in 1864. Maximilian was deposed and shot to death by the Mexicans after a short a troubled reign. Benito Juarez was re-elected to the presi- dency in 1867, after the departure of the French. *** Mexico City was the seat of the first Spanish government after its conquest by Cortes in 1521. For- merly known as New Spain, the ter- ritory once included California, Ari- zona, New Mexico, Texas and Florida, as well as all the present Central American States. The first settlements were conducted by the Franciscans. By 1808, a movement for inde- pendence began due to general un- rest among the masses. Indians were forced to work as slaves in the mines, and in the fields of vast haciendas (ranches). Many people started talking about breaking away from Spain. In 1821, Mexico separated from Spain. (Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836). War with the US from 1846 to 1848 resulted in the cessa- tion of much territory to the US. Porfiro Diaz was president from 1877 to 1911 (except for the years 1880-1884). His reforms were good for the landowners, but reduced the peasants to landlessness. In 1910, a revolution broke out and Diaz was overthrown. Madero, Heurta and Carranza followed as Presidents until 1920 when a revo- lution put Obregon in power until 1924. There was also friction be- tween Mexico and the US over mineral rights and land ownership, followed by a few more revolutions. In 1942, however, Mexico became a US ally, declaring war on Japan, Germany and Italy. Today the palace of Emperor Maximilian and his Empress Car- lotta is the National Museum of History at Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. *** Mother's Day is May 12th this year.  In Italy it is known as FESTA DELLA MAMMA. In Italy mothers are celebrated all year round but officially Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Like most feast days in Italy, it can be traced back to ancient Roman culture when a whole week of celebrations were held in May to celebrate the goddess Juno. Juno's name means "vital force" (a great description of Italian mothers) as she was the god- dess of marriage and motherhood. With the passing of time and the coming of Christianity, this tradi- tion evolved into a religious festival when the "mother" referred to "mother church," the giver of spir- itual life. It became important in Italy for families to return to their home villages and visit their "mother" church - the church in which they were baptized. In Amer- ica, it's a much more recent cele- bration that was first introduced in 1907 but not recognized officially until 1914, when it finally became a public holiday. In Italy the formal recognition of mothers as a public holiday did not happen until 1957. *** Circa 1915 this was a popular Mother's Day poem: "M" is for the million things she gave me,  "O" means only that she's grow- ing old, "T" is for the tears she shed to save me,  "H" is for her heart of purest gold, "E" is for her eyes, with love- light shining, "R" means right, and right she'll always be. Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER", a word that means the world to me. *** THE DAY OF THE TEACHER is May 8th this year. It is on this day you let the teachers in your area know that the work they do with and for the children is appreciated. In California the Association of Mexican American Educators were responsible for getting our legisla- tors to proclaim the second Wednesday in May each year as THE DAY OF THE TEACHER. Remember Italian-American Teachers on May 8th never lose their class...

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