Commemorating Cinco de Mayo
For Immediate Release - May 5, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) today urged all Americans to pause on Wednesday, May 5, and commemorate Cinco de Mayo.

"We are better off today as a community and as a nation because of the vibrant ethnic diversity Mexican Americans contribute to our culture," McDermott said.

McDermott noted that close to 18,000 American immigrants from Mexico live in Seattle, and statewide 5.5% of Washington’s population, almost 330,000 people, are from Mexico.

"Like my Irish ancestors, and other ethnic groups, Mexican immigrants have come to America to pursue the American Dream. We’re all from somewhere else, here to make a new life, without forgetting where we came from," McDermott said. "Cinco de Mayo is a day to remember Mexico’s struggle for independence."

On May 5, 1862, Mexican soldiers defeated Napoleon’s French Army, marking the beginning of Mexico’s independence from foreign rule, and a turning point in Mexican unity and patriotism, McDermott said.

McDermott spoke directly to the Mexican American community in its native language to honor the culture. "Los inmigrantes mexicanos enriquecen América por las contribuciones que hacen. Cinco de Mayo conmemora el espirito y la independencia que hicieron México libre. Su espirito y independencia ayudarán a mantener América libre."