.

Inon
Let's face it, Cinco de Mayo celebrations in this country have as much to do with Mexico defeat-
Cashing ing the French in the Battle of Puebla as our observance of St. Patrick's Day has to do with convert-
ing the pagan Irish into Christians.
As a BBC radio correspondent recently lamented, "America's celebration of St. Patrick's Day is
beyond parody."
The same could be said of howAmericansmark Cinco de Mayo. .
(incade In corporate America's view, why let a little thing like historical facts get in the way of a great
party and a boatload of profit?
So sit back, down another Corona and chase it with a shot of Cuervo. And just be glad that

Mayo nobody is trying to sell us green beer this Cinco de Mayo. At least until someone invents a guaca-
mole-flavored brew.

Corona's clever billboard:

The brew it's now the num-
ber one imported beer in the
United States.
A CELEBRATED
HISTORY
Years of clever marketing have conditioned many of us to
think of Cinco de Mayo as a holiday that can only be com-
memorated by downing massive amounts of alcohol.
In fact, Tucson beer sales shoot up 15 percent before the
holiday as compared to an average weekend in May, according
to Daniel Lust, spokesperson for Golden Eagle Distributors.
That's a lot of kegs. And nationally, the "holiday" has crept up
to the No.8 spot among the biggest beer-swilling weekends,
right behind the SuperB owl.
The idea of turning Cinco de Mayo into what satirist Lalo
Alcaraz once dubbed "Drinko de Mayo" began with Anheuser-
Busch's legendary 1980s marketing push, designed to tap into
the growing Latino market, said Carl Kravetz, chairman elect of
the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.
Kravetz's group represents more than 80 advertising agen-
cies in the United States specializing in Latino
marketing. Since then, Budweiser and other beer
companies have recast Cincode Mayo from a
symbol of anti-imperialist revolt into a quintes-
sentially (~ericanized" occasion for dancing,
drinking and carousing.
Cinco de Mayo is much more widely (and
wildly) celebrated in the United States than it
ever was in Mexico. It's become that special time
of year when non-Mexicans, including a grow-
ing number of U.S.-born Latinos from coast to
coast, raise their mugs to toast our south-of-the-
border neighbors - even if they have no clue
what they're drinking to. (For the record: Cinco
de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day!
That happens in September.)

241LATINO PERSPECTIVES «May 2005

PARTYINGFORPROFIT
This year, almost every city in the Valley had planned a corporate-
sponsored Cinco de Mayo event. At the same time, sports bars, cantinas,
corner bars, trendy nightclubs, franchise restaurants, and, yes, even Irish
pubs were slated to hold Cinco de Mayo bashes of their own.
Macayo's Mexican Kitchen, which claims to have held the first Cinco
de Mayo party in the Valley, began promotions weeks before the holiday
by handing each customer a "boarding pass" that would qualify them to find out who's throwing the big parties and we'll saturate those areas."
win a cruise for two on Carnival Cruise Lines. The winning ticket holder, In other words, count on DUI lawyers and bail bondsmen to cash in
of course, had to return to Macayo's on Cinco de Mayo to collect the on Cinco de Mayo as well.
prize. The Mexican holiday has grown so popular in Arizona that it's easy
"This is one of the busiest nights of the year," said Rick Raymond, to forget that this is the same state making national headlines with
director of marketing for Macayo's. "We recognize that it's a significant cel- Proposition 200 - a voter approved initiative meant to keep undocu-
ebration opportunity for the entire market, not just the Hispanic market." mented Mexican immigrants out of Arizona-and other anti-immigrant
measures.
Raymond's not alone.
Whether it's a Fry's supermarket in predominantly non-Latino Even as party plans statewide were shifting into high gear in antici-
Ahwatukee Foothills or a Food City supermarket in pation of the Cinco de Mayo weekend, armed vigilantes in Southern
the Valley's Latino barrios, the signs and songs Arizona called the "Minutemen" were announcing the expansion
of "Cinco" are in literally the air. of their volunteer patrol efforts across the Southwest.
On northbound Interstate 17 from "I wouldn't be surprised if here in Arizona, some of
downtown Phoenix to Glendale the Minutemen will be putting on Mexican hats and
Avenue, look to the sky and you'll drinking Corona that day," said John Jota Leaiios, a
notice a billboard that reads, multimedia artist and assistant professor at Arizona
"Happy Cinco de Mayo." In the State University's Department of Chicano/Chicana
billboard, which features a larg- Studies. Leaftos, a vocal critic of the state's growing
er-than-life bottle of Corona, anti-immigrant sentiment, says the commercializa-
the word Corona in the logo tion of Cinco de Mayo is just the latest example of
has been replaced by the word the exploitation of Mexican culture.
"These are all colonial fantasies that extend from
Cinco. Even Cinco de Mayo
purists have to admit, that's European conquerors, whether it's taking their land,
capitalism at its cleverest. (copulating with) their women, consuming their goods
Macayo's, meanwhile, is expecting or erasing their indigenous cultures."
up to 4,000 people at its Depot Cantina jHijo/e! (Translation: Ouch!)
location in Tempe on Cinco de Mayo Others are more forgiving.
weekend. Patrons will pay a $5 cover
charge ("cinco" means five) with a
A CAPITAL
IDEA
portion of the proceeds going to Most in the advertising industry, not to mention the
Homebase Youth Services, a non- throngs of Latino and non-Latino revelers alike, view the
profit organization that helps American version of the holiday as a shining example of
at-risk children. Latino assimilation.
"We'll have two live "I would say cor-
bands, and a DJ from KISS- porate America drove
FM," said Raymond. Cinco de Mayo," Ray
And, of course, plenty of Arvizu said, who along
beer and margaritas. with his wife Ernestine,
co-owns Arvizu Advertising in
MIXED MESSAGES Phoenix. "They put it on their calendar and it
Cinco de Mayo has turned into just got a lot of play."
such a popular drinking occasion This year's downtown Cinco de Mayo celebra-
that it now ranks right behind St. tion in Phoenix, the largest of its kind in the state, is owned
Patrick's Day and New Year's Eve and operated by Arvizu Advertising. Ray Arvizu readily acknowledged
for incidents involving drunken drivers, that his company has culled substantial profits as a result of the celebra-
according to Phoenix Police Sgt. Joel tion over the years. While the couple declined to provide details, sourc-
Tranter, who is a Dill supervisor with es involved in planning of the event in recent years say it easily grosses
the department. hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for the Arvizus.
"We'll be conducting saturation For their part, the Arvizus are quick to note that a portion
patrols that night," Tranter said. "We of the proceeds go to charity every year, but they declined to say
- what percentage of the gross those charitable contributions rep-
resent. (Incidentally, this edition of Latino Perspectives Magazine
includes a paid advertisement for the downtown Phoenix Cinco
de Mayo festival.)

May2005» LATINO
PERSPECTIVES
i 2S
 To those who complain that the holiday's If everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, said California Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-
then everybody must be Mexican on Cinco de Allard.
historical significance has been virtually wiped
clean by corporate America, Arvizu adds, "We Mayo - even the Irish. In one popular Corona
commercial, an elderly Irishman in the old AISLESOF ALE
didn't create (that), we just created a great
event." country walks into a local pub and is greeted by Here in the Valley, most supermarkets were
But capitalizing on Cinco is no reason to be a Cinco de Mayo party in full swing, complete promoting Cinco de Mayo weeks ahead of the
embarrassed, Kravetz insisted. with mariachis and a sombrero-toting bartender. holiday by strategically placing beer or tequila
"Success in the United States is defined by "Hiya Sean, happy Cinco de Mayo," the "islands" in front of aisles. In many cases, the
sales," Kravetz said. '~d even though it was bartender tells the Irishman in full brogue as he displays did not mention "Cinco de Mayo"
something that was originally targeting Latinos, plops a Corona in front of him. but were nonetheless festively decorated in a
it has crossed over. And that's a source of pride. It is that sort of ingenious - some say way that clearly reminded customers that the
"It has become a St. Patrick's Day for insidious - marketing that has made Corona the Mexican holiday was right around corner.
Latinos," Kravetz said. No.1 imported beer in the United States, pass- Nevertheless, most supermarket execu-
a:
., ing up Heineken in 1997. And Tecate, which
a:
>- was not even on the radar a few years ago, is
~
9 now the No.4 imported beer in the country.
i
>-
Z
Sometimes, however, things get lost in trans-
z lation.
5.,
oI- Last year, Tecate faced a marketing backlash
o:J: after it erected billboards meant to tie in to the
a.
holiday weekend in New Mexico that featured
the slogan "Finally. A cold Latina."
Latina leaders were not amused.
Two Latina high schoolers were so offended
and raised enough of a ruckus that Tecate took
down the signs.
"It plays off one of many negative and
misguided stereotypes about Latinas, such as
that Latinas are to be viewed as sex objects,"
p

- -- - - - - --'"- - - - -- - - --------

"As a multicultural
by the Bashas' Corp. The company is a leading
advertising and sponsor of Cinco de Mayo festivals in Phoenix,
Mesa and elsewhere.
pu blic relations firm, "We pay a large amount of money to be the
our clients frequently title sponsor and we definitely don't profit from
it," said Robert Ortiz, director of marketing for
ask about partici- Food City.
That depends on how one defines profit.
t. pation in Cinco de Ortiz's claim aside, there is no denying that
~ Food City, as well as hundreds of other retailers,
Mayo events and bars and restaurants in Arizona, ultimately ben-
we generally steer efit financially from attaching their company's
brand names to Cinco de Mayo events.
Food City sells a number of products aimed
directly at Mexican immigrants and U.S.-born
Latinos. In fact, the chain exists to target the
burgeoning Latino market. And the company is
a major sponsor of events tied to the immigrant
community, whether they be outdoor festivals or
soccer tournaments.
Yet, there is so much money to be made
from Cinco de Mayo these days that retailers
with no apparent ties to Mexican-related prod-
ucts, unlike Food City, also use the holiday as an
Cont. on page 34

them away from

that as a market
entry strategy." Maryvale Hospital is proud to include these two
. J
- Lisa Urias,Alternatives/ Professional Latinos on our Health Team.
Alternativos Multicultural
Marketing & Public Relations
tives contacted for this article were reluctant to Dr. .Jose L6pez Dr. RaUl Lopez
discuss their marketing strategies for Cinco de
Mayo, citing "competitive reasons." Safeway and
Albertson supermarket officials did not return Comprometidos a su familia!
repeated telephone calls seeking comment.
~
~ Maryvale Hospital. .
One company willing to talk was Food City,
the Latino-oriented supermarket chain owned
UnaAji/iAddn
de4JmtzoHtaltbOzrt .
5102WestCampbe!lAv~uePhoenix,AZ85031
r
I
L
From page 27
,
effective marketing ploy.
''A few years back, The Home Depot started
doing some Cinco de Mayo promotions,"
Kravetz said. ''And last year, General Motors had
a huge Cinco de Mayo sale."
In the metropolitan Phoenix area, Audio
Systems advertised its Cinco de Mayo speaker
sale. Why not? Mexicans buy speakers, too. And
Kravetz predicts that those frantic car dealership
ads that we see each Memorial Day and Labor
Day weekend will eventually be a common
fixture every Cinco de Mayo. Except instead
of giving away hot dogs, they might give away
chips and salsa to entice people to buy cars. !ZiIIl"'l._tm

"We recognize that Not that every Latino-owned advertising

agency is as quick to jump on the cerveza-Iaden
it's a significant cel- bandwagon.
''As a multicultural advertising and public
ebration opportunity relations firm, our clients frequently ask about
for the entire market, participation in Cinco de Mayo events and
we generally steer them away from that as a
not just the Hispanic market entry strategy," said Lisa Urias, owner
of Alternatives/ Alternativos Multicultural
market." Marketing & Public Relations in Phoenix.
- RickRaymond, Macayo's "Unfortunately, they have become events
that draw large crowds, but have a one-dimen-
director of marketing
sional focus - drinking."
Urias, however, acknowledges that if it made
sense to market a particular client's products or
services in conjunction with the Cinco de Mayo
holiday, she would advise them to do so.
TAKING CINCa BACK
In California, meanwhile, a grassroots orga-
nization calling itself the "Cinco de Mayo con
Orgullo Coalition" is vowing to battle the alco-
hol industry and "reclaim Cinco de Mayo."
"We're not prohibitionists," said Bill
Gallegos, one of the organization's founders.
Cont. page 38
 -- .- ----
From page 34

"This is about the future of our community.

There are extremely serious problems with alco-
hol in our community, and to advertise like they
do is like adding gasoline on a fire."
Gallegos has a point. The Center on Alcohol
Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University,
a non-profit that monitors the impact of mar-
keting by the alcohol industry on young people,
reports that young Latinos are exposed to a
much higher rate of alcohol advertising than
non- Latinos.
For instance, one of the controversial Tecate
billboards in New Mexico was placed a block
away from a high school where hundreds of
mostly Latino students passed everyday.

HOUDAY FUTURES
Just how big has Cinco de Mayo become?
Despite the emphasis on alcohol advertising,
Cinco de Mayo still hasn't broken into the top
five beer-swilling holidays, according to a 2002
Miller Brewing Company study which found
that the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Memorial
Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and the
Super Bowl are all respectively ranked in front
of it.
Yet, the holiday's multi-cultural popularity
continues to grow.
In Miami, where the Latino population is
more multi-ethnic than in the Valley, a local
supermarket recently promoted Bud Lite and
Budw~iser under a colorful sign that read "Fiesta
de Mayo."
Is Anheuser-Busch's latest stroke of genius to
turn the one-weekend drinking holiday it began
promoting 20 years ago into a month-long bash?
Or is it just the beer company's latest move
to tap into the growing Latino market.
As Ortiz points out, "Bud Light is (Food
City's) number one selling beer." jg

Latino PerspectivesMagazine Editor-in-Chief

James Garcia contributed to this article.