My friend Lynda has a Bastille Day Golf Tournament every July. She isn’t French, she just likes to celebrate holidays from other cultures with great food (she is quite a gourmand) and Bastille Day fell on the right day in July. The winner of our golf tournaments had to show the best demonstration of fashion using the colors of the French Flag. Oh, and the person who collected the most golf balls on the course also got a prize.
I have stolen Lynda’s idea for many a dinner party and regularly choose random cultural events as an excuse for a party. I’ve had an event to celebrate South African Freedom Day (April 21st), The Kiwi Waitangi Day (Feb 6th in New Zealand) which is a good alternative to friends who have a “hurry up Spring Groundhog Day party”.
For the uninformed, today is Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) and is the day 155 years ago when a small group of ragtag Mexicans kicked the ass of the French military in The Battle of Puebla. Having been to Mexico many times, I know my Mexican friends share in my philosophy of “any excuse for a good party”. Spif my sweetie was once in Mexicali during the World Cup when the Mexican soccer team soundly defeated the French team (sound familiar?). He said the food gave him Montezuma’s revenge for a week, but it was an unforgettable party with televisions broadcasting the game in the city’s square. He said he had his bottom pinched by Mexican grandmothers, and felt a kinship for all his Mexican amigos.
There is something about the Latin “joie de vivre” (love of life) that you feel irregardless of how much tequila you’ve consumed. Think about charming Mexican waiters who are politely appreciative without seeming creepy, and beautiful girls in peasant blouses. And a not-so-subtle hint that when the sun goes down over the Gulf the amantes (lovers) unabashedly come out to show that Latino’s are deserving of the world’s greatest lovers handle.
So in celebration of our Mexican cousins I encourage you to make some blender drinks, find some latin music on Songza and grab your amante for a little loving. As your neighborhood sex therapist its more than just a good idea. It’s almost patriotic.
