The Wisconsin GOP Hispanic Community Center’s Cinco de Mayo celebration caught some heat on the Milwaukee southside.
Protesters rallied outside the center on West Greenfield Avenue calling the May 5 event a hypocritical attempt to earn Hispanic votes in the upcoming governor’s race.
Ismael Luna, a son of Mexican immigrants, said Cinco de Mayo isn’t a widely celebrated holiday among Mexicans in the U.S. or in Mexico. He said Wisconsin Republicans' decision to throw the event shows how disconnected they are from the Latino community in Milwaukee and the southside.
“It’s a slap to the face to every Latino in Milwaukee,” Luna said.
Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, commemorates Mexico’s victory over France in theBattle of Pueblain 1862. This holiday differs from Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 16.
Celebrations in Mexico are mostly in Puebla, the town where the battle took place. It’s not a federal holiday in Mexico or the U.S.
However, Cinco de Mayo is heavily celebrated in the U.S. Since the 1980s, the beer industry has used the holiday to market their alcoholic beverages,outlets reported. Many restaurants and bars today offer drink specials on margaritas and traditional Mexican food to mark the day.
Nonetheless, the Wisconsin GOP says its annual Cinco de Mayo celebration is one of the ways it connects with the Hispanic community and hears the issues that are important to them.
“[Cinco de Mayo] is very important to the Hispanic community, which makes it important to us, and we want to make sure that we’re connecting with that community that way,” said Anika Rickard, party spokesperson, in a phone call ahead of the event.
Chris Lawrence, vice chair of the Republican Party of Milwaukee County, said this is an event Mexican Republican members asked for. He said members were offended a Cinco de Mayo celebration didn't exist a decade ago.
“I had no idea what Cinco de Mayo was until more Mexican Americans – our members – started requesting,” Lawrence said.
Protesters like Diana Goggins, an organizer with Voces de la Frontera, an immigrants’ rights organization, say some Republican policies do more harm than good for Latinos.
One example, protesters focused on was how Republicans' support of the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill exasperates health care disparities for Latinos.
“They celebrate our culture while denying our communities' care,” Goggins said. “They want out culture but not our people.”
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Protesters carried signs opposing U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican who is running to be Wisconsin governor. He voted in favor of the Big Beautiful Bill, which organizers say will reduce health care access for about 250,000 Wisconsinites.
Hispanics and American Indians under age 65 had the highest uninsured rates in 2024, according to theKaiser Family Foundation, an independent organization reporting on health policy. The foundation found more than 18% of Hispanics and American Indians aren’t insured.
“Budgets reflect who you care about, who you think deserves access and belonging,” said Alexandra Guevara, spokesperson for Voces.
Although Brian Schimming, the state chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, spoke in favor of Tiffany during the Cinco de Mayo event, Lawrence said the purpose of the event wasn’t to earn Hispanic votes in the governor’s race.
"We're here number one to celebrate an important day for Mexican Americans," Lawrence said.
Republicans, Democrats share differing opinions on holiday celebration
Alfonso Morales, former Milwaukee Police Department chief and second-generation Mexican American, told an audience at the Wisconsin GOP Hispanic Community Center that Cinco de Mayo is a story of resilience and courage that the Republican Party can relate to.
"They didn't want somebody coming into their territory, changing politics, changing what they're used to, their freedoms," Morales said.
Cinco de Mayo is a proud day in Mexican history because it was an unexpected victory. The French military was better armed and had more experience. Yet Mexico managed to shove the invaders out, Morales explained.
But that's not quite the reputation Cinco de Mayo has in the U.S., Luna said, who is running for state Assembly in District 8. He says it's a holiday primarily White people celebrate.
"They'll say 'cinco de drinko,' 'shot o'clock,' and you'll never hear a Mexican or Latino say that," Luna said. "It's highly celebrated just as an excuse for them to use what they think is our holiday to go and get drunk."
Guevara, spokesperson for Voces, agreed that Cinco de Mayo is more of a commercial holiday that primarily benefits businesses that aren't owned by Mexicans. Although Mexican-owned businesses, like El Rey, benefit from Cinco de Mayo, too, she said.
Guevara is all for a change in the Latino community to celebrate and embrace the holiday and for other cultures to join in, too. Her trouble is with cherry picking what parts of Latino culture is celebrated.
"It can be OK to celebrate a culture, but you have to celebrate the whole the culture," Guevara said.
Gina Castrois a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at gcastro@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Protesters criticize GOP's Cinco de Mayo celebration in Milwaukee