Happy
Cinco de Mayo! … what? Happy Seis
de Mayo
Spanish version - ¡Feliz cinco de mayo! … ¿Qué? … ¡Feliz seis de mayo!
After I moved from Colombia to the United States, I began to immerse myself in this new culture. I could barely communicate with Americans. I had next to no English skills. People were friendly and always trying to make me feel welcomed.
To my surprise, in the month of May people began to ask me how I was going to celebrate May 5th – Cinco de Mayo. I didn’t know what to answer. “Celebrate?” … I asked myself. Then on May 5th people seemed to be very excited and were shouting “Happy Cinco de Mayo!” I was very surprised but thankful for their friendly gestures. I wondered if it was an American tradition to shout on the fifth of every month ... or perhaps on all the days in May. I ran to the library to find out why people would do that. There I found how big the "Cinco de Mayo" celebration was. I learned that this is primarily an American celebration. It is also regionally celebrated in the state of Puebla in Mexico. The celebration originated in Mexico after the French occupation. On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army obtained a victory over the French forces in the Battle of Puebla. All this seemed very interesting to me. Even more interesting was the way Americans celebrated.
To my surprise, in the month of May people began to ask me how I was going to celebrate May 5th – Cinco de Mayo. I didn’t know what to answer. “Celebrate?” … I asked myself. Then on May 5th people seemed to be very excited and were shouting “Happy Cinco de Mayo!” I was very surprised but thankful for their friendly gestures. I wondered if it was an American tradition to shout on the fifth of every month ... or perhaps on all the days in May. I ran to the library to find out why people would do that. There I found how big the "Cinco de Mayo" celebration was. I learned that this is primarily an American celebration. It is also regionally celebrated in the state of Puebla in Mexico. The celebration originated in Mexico after the French occupation. On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army obtained a victory over the French forces in the Battle of Puebla. All this seemed very interesting to me. Even more interesting was the way Americans celebrated.
Now, let’s talk about marketing to Hispanics. When you decide to market to this segment, you will need to remember many facts. Cinco de Mayo is not a Latin-American celebration, or Mexican Independence Day, or it is celebrated by every Spanish speaker you encounter. Promotional campaigns featuring big hats, piñatas, and colorfully dressed dancers, designed to reach Spanish speakers in the US during these festivities, will not work as smoothly as you might expect. Those types of campaigns could potentially make your brand seem insensitive to cultural differences. It may be almost insulting to those who come from any of the other 20 countries in the Spanish-speaking world.
So, what could work? you ask me … Feature the history of the celebration –the why– or, giving tips about the celebration. Educational campaigns are one of the approaches that might work. Cinco de Mayo is mostly a commercial celebration that allows people to enjoy, drink and eat out in May.
So, next time that you feel the urge to shout “Happy Cinco de Mayo!” to a multitude of Spanish speakers, have in mind that, maybe, the next day you will have many of them shouting back at you, “Happy Six de Mayo my friend!”
