As a student of the Spanish language, I remember learning (and being reminded every year) that Cinco de Mayo does not in fact represent the day of Mexican Independence from Spain, but rather it remembers the little-known victory at the Battle of Pueblo that Mexico fought against French invasion during the 19th century. Whatever the origins, it seems most of the world celebrates in some fashion (maybe not France). It doesn’t even seem to matter what your heritage is; Cinco de Mayo is a party day for all, Mexican Independence or not. A few of us were curious about what the Cinco scene looks like in London, so we decided to head to Soho for an evening of depravity (by depravity I mean we checked out a few bars in a calm fashion and left for home by 12am). For such a cosmopolitan city, I was surprised by how minimal the London Cinco activity appears, underwhelming even. Looking for an online list of offerings there are shockingly few venues that were featuring specifically Cinco evenings.
With the limited options, we began at a salsa bar just a brief jog from Shaftsbury Avenue. We went looking for a cultural experience and I think we found one; the bar was hosting a Salsa class that evening and we were herded to the outskirts of the room as we became the unwitting spectators to a couple dozen aging Londoners trying to find the rhythm of their hips in the dim lighting of an underground dance floor. So that was a cultural experience, albeit nothing related to Mexico. As we were then enticed into a bar further into the heart of Soho, we yet again brushed against a uniquely London scene. Likewise unrelated to Cinco, we enjoyed the spectacle of a group of young men who took turns break dancing, dominating the dance floor with daring dips and energetic spins. And this was while conversing with two brothers hailing from New Jersey who were in London for a week of vacation.
We never did properly celebrate Cinco de Mayo. But I think the moral of the story is that no matter what type of “cultural experience” you look for in London, you will always find something different and excitingly entertaining, something unexpected, yet equally intriguing.