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Fiestas
Patrias is an annual parade held all over Texas to celebrate two major
Mexican national holidays. The parade began in Houston in the 1920's
when the Hispanic population had grown large enough to require a Mexican
consulate. These celebrations originated in Mexico in the nineteenth century.
The first one, Cinco de Mayo (May 5), commemorates Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza's
victory on May 5, 1862, over the French expeditionary forces at Puebla,
Mexico. The second, Diez y Seis de Septiembre (September 16), commemorates
Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's grito de Dolores ("cry of Dolores")
on September 16, 1810, at the village of Dolores, near Guanajuato. Hidalgo
called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico. Today the parade is
known as a festivity of the multiethinic culture of Mexican Americans and
their adaptation to Anglo society. OLA is invited every year to attend
and has won several prizes in many parade divisions. With the continued
support from Fiestas Patrias, DeBakeyHS, our OLA sponsors, and of course
all club members, OLA hopes to continue this tradition. |
