With Cinco de Mayo and our Cinco de Mayo party at Chief Ike’s fast approaching, it’s the perfect time of year to brush up on your Mexican culture and history. The Mexican Embassy’s Cultural Instite of Mexico has planned ten events on the history and culture of Mexico throughout the month of May. They include a tequila tasting tomorrow, a panel discussion at the Library of Congress on Thursday on “Why is 5 de Mayo celebrated in the United States,” a family festival on the National Mall, and a talk in Bethesda by Mexican author Carlos Chimal, among other events.

All and all they’ve put together an impressive lineup. Although we don’t want to spoil Thursday’s panel, according to Wikipedia Cinco de Mayo’s popularity in the U.S. “can be attributed to the Chicano student movement of the late 1960s,” which chose May for events because Mexico’s independence day (Sept. 16) came too soon in the school year for events planning. They also point out that “Non-Mexican Americans also participate in the celebrations, much in the same manner that non-Irish Americans observe St. Patrick’s Day, with holiday-themed parties marked by the consumption of Mexican food, tequila and Mexican beer.”