Remember this day!

Pancho Villa and others at the very first Fiesta de la tarro vacía

Rare photo recently discovered

Sinko de Mayo

A contemplative Villa (left) and a glum Zapata (2nd from right) face an uncertain future

In Mexico during the time of the Revolution, mayonnaise was a national obsession. More of the condiment was consumed there than anywhere else on earth, with Hong Kong a distant second.

In fact, leaders on both sides of the conflict were crazy for the stuff. But it was Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata who spread the spread among the common people, as it were, so that its popularity soared, circa 1910.

In those days, England was the mayonnaise capital of the world, with Cross & Blackwell’s, and Hellmann’s as the most popular brands, and the largest shipment of all time, some tens of thousands of jars, set out from Southampton by steamship on April 10, 1912, bound for Vera Cruz, by way of Cherbourg, New York, Charleston, and Havana.

But as history showed, the vessel was none other than the ill-fated H.M.S. Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on April 15th. When news arrived in Mexico twenty days later, the war-torn people were devastated.

Their anguish was so great across the nation that a truce was declared between the Federales and the rebel factions, for one day of mourning. And thus was held the very first Fiesta de la tarro vacía (Feast of the Empty Jar.)

feast2

(photo: Museos de México)

It has been observed ever since, on this very day, now known colloquially as Sinko de Mayo.

Thank you, I’m here all week … try the guacamole.

 

Words Worth Remembering

Once common words and phrases now out of use

As you can immediately see, still hold meaning today

Betrump: To deceive, cheat; to elude, slip from
 
Coney-catch: To swindle, cheat; to trick, dupe, deceive
 
Slug-a-bed: One who lies long in bed through laziness
 
Momist: A person who habitually finds fault; a harsh critic
Snout-fair: Having a fair countenance; fair-faced, comely, handsome
 
Ear-rent: The figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk
 
Peacockize: To behave like a peacock; esp. to pose or strut ostentatiously
 
Sillytonian: A silly or gullible person, esp. one considered as belonging to a notional sect of such people
 
Merry-go-sorry: A mixture of joy and sorrow
 
Teen: To vex, irritate, annoy, anger, enrage / To inflict suffering upon; to afflict, harass; to injure, harm
 
Wasteheart: Used to express grief, pity, regret, disappointment, or concern: “alas!” “woe is me!” Also wasteheart-a-day, wasteheart of me
 
Dowsabel: Applied generically to a sweetheart, “lady-love”
 

Many more such words, compiled by York University, can be found HERE.