Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico's victory at the battle of the Puebla on May 5, 1862.   The victory of the smaller Mexican army against the larger French forces was a boost to the morale of the Mexicans. The city of Puebla marks the event with an arts festival,  with exhibits of local cuisine and with re-enactments of the battle.

The day is mostly celebrated in the United States and is associated with Mexican culture.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations began in California where have been observed annually since 1863.

Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken for Mexico's Independence Day which is celebrated on September 16th.   It was in 1810 Miguel Hildago, a Spanish Catholic priest gave his famous speech Grito de Dolores and initiated Mexico's revolt that lasted till 1821 when Mexico obtained its independence from Spain.

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful places on our planet and justly considered one of the seven natural wonders in the world.  It is a big fissure of the Colorado Plateau that created a steep sided canyon 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and approximately one mile deep.  Those lucky to have visited the Canyon readily admitted that they have never before saw anything to match this astonishing natural wonder.

The Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago.  Since that time, the Colorado River continues to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.

In September 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado was leading an expedition north of Mexico in search of gold. Having found none he ordered captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas to search for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola.  

Garcia Lopez de Cardenas  traveled to the South Rim and three of his soldiers descended some one third of the way into the Canyon until they were forced to return because of lack of water.  In their report, they noted that some of the rocks in the Canyon were "bigger than the great tower of Seville."

Modern day explorers used all means of transportation including early motor vehicles.

My son John one of the travelers, photographers and writers of this blog in the south rim of the Canyon .

Here is the other traveler, photographer and writer of this blog.  If you compare me with the picture posted under the title Mothers and their children you will noted how much I aged in a few days.  haha!

Itinerary

My son and I started our trip in Orlando, Florida and thus far we have driven our friend's car thru the States of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.  Although these southern States have commonalities each has distinct culture and flag.  I decided therefore to portrait the flags of these States and give a brief history.

The flag of Florida consists of a red saltire, the St. Andrew's Cross, on a white background, with the State seal  superimposed on the center stating in God we Trust. The term "Five Flags over Florida" usually refers to the five governments that have exerted sovereignty over all or part of Florida: the flags of Spain, France, UK, the US and the Confederacy.  

The current flag of the State of Alabama is a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white.  The cross of St. Andrew is a diagonal cross, known in as a saltire. 

The flag of the State of Mississippi is the sole remaining U.S. state flag which bears the Confederate battle flag’s saltire.

The flag of the State of Louisiana consists of a "pelican in her piety" representing a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from the blood. The mother pelican's head and outspread wings covering the three pelican chicks nested below her form a stylized flour-de-lis, another emblem of similar significance often depicted in Louisiana. This symbol is emblematic of Christian charity is also found on the state seal.  

The Texas flag is known as the "Lone Star Flag".  The Flag's code assigns the following symbolism to the colors of the Texas flag: blue stands for loyalty, white for purity, and red for bravery. The code also states that single (lone) star "represents all of Texas and stands for our unity as one for God, State, and Country." The "lone star" is, in fact, an older symbol predating the flag which was used to symbolize Texans' solidarity in declaring independence from Mexico.  It is still seen today as a symbol of Texas' independent spirit, and gave rise to the state's official nickname "The Lone Star State".  The idea of the single red stripe and single white stripe actually dates back to the short-lived Republic of Fredonia,  a small state near modern Nacogdoches which seceded from Mexico in 1826 before being forcibly re-integrated. The new state was formed through an alliance between local Anglo settlers and Native American tribes and the Fredonian flag used a white and red to symbolize the two ethnic groups from which the state was formed.

The flag of the State of Oklahoma consists of a traditional Osage Nation buffalo-skin shield with seven eagle feathers on a sky blue field. The Osage shield is covered by two symbols of peace: the calumet representing Native Americans, and the olive branch representing European Americans. Six golden brown crosses, Native American symbols for stars, are spaced on the shield. The blue field represents the first official flag flown by any Native American Nation, the Choctaw flag. The blue field also represents devotion. The shield surmounted by the calumet and olive branch represents defensive or protective warfare, showing a love of peace by a united people.