Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day. It's not Mexico's Memorial Day, and it's not a holiday to celebrate beer (or tequila). To learn what the holiday is really all about, visit VivaCincoDeMayo.org.

To enhance your Americanized celebration of the holiday that few people in this country know anything about, here's a video of "The Mexican Hat Dance" performed by The Four Squeezins.

Terror in the Treeline... an Amazing Zipline Experience

Went ziplining today as part of a group excursion... I'm terrified of heights, but made it through. The trip down each of the 11 zip lines was incredible. It was the climbing up through the trees and actually getting hooked up every time that was a little nerve wracking. Roxanne "Nerves Of" Steele was also along for the trip and loved it too, despite also having a fear of heights.

We capped off the zip lines with a short bike ride to a cenote, or natural fresh water pool, where we swam, dove, and did more zip lining into the water. There are pictures from the cenote in the Day 6 gallery for you to check out, and we've got a DVD of the whole group on zip lines, bikes, and swimming that I'll try to post a little of on the site once we're back in Wisconsin.

Afternoon broadcast went great today... Be sure to check out some photos in the Day 5 gallery of Roxanne acting inappropriate in Playa del Carmen last night. Plus some photos of a restaurant called Alux, that's built into an underground cave.

Eating at the Japanese restaurant at the resort tonight, then it sounds like there may be another trip to Playa del Carmen tonight... who knows what could happen this time?

Catamaran Craziness

Had loads of fun today on the catamaran cruise with the whole group. Drinking, snorkeling, watching listeners leap from the boat into the water, enjoying a couples' balloon-popping contest... loads of great stories.

Be sure to check out some of the photos from Day 4... and go to the videos page to check out video of the boat jumping and the balloon-popping winners!

Bienvenidos a Mexico!

Well, we all arrived yesterday without incident at the gorgeous Iberostar Tucan resort in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. The beach is incredible, the pool is huge, the drinks are flowing, and the weather is fantastic.

Looking forward to spending a little time on the beach this afternoon, then meeting up with all of the WAPL listeners that are along for the trip this evening during our welcome reception.

Tested all of our equipment yesterday afternoon, and everything ran smoothly. So we should be up and ready to go for our first broadcast on Monday morning with Rick and Len from 7-9am.

Cinco de Mayo is just one month away!

Cinco de Mayo is just one month away! We all know it's a fun-filled celebration, but exactly what is the holiday? Here are some facts and myths on this festive holiday, from Wikipedia:
Cinco de Mayo ("5th of May" in English) is primarily a regional and not an obligatory federal holiday in Mexico. The date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day; Mexico's Independence Day is actually September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish), which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

The holiday commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

According to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in California in the 1860s in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. The paper notes that "The holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico."

The holiday of Cinco de Mayo is primarily a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated in the state of Puebla. There is some limited recognition of the holiday in other parts of the country. For the most part the celebrations combine food, music and dancing.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico.Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and services, with an emphasis on beverages, foods, and music.

The date is perhaps best recognized in the United States as a date to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican ancestry, much as St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, and the Chinese New Year are used to celebrate those of Irish, German, and Chinese ancestry, respectively. As a result, the holiday is observed by many Americans regardless of ethnic origins, especially in cities and states where there is a large population of Mexican ancestry.

Although it is not an official holiday, many cities with large populations of Mexican ancestry honor the day as a symbolic representation of Mexican pride and as a representation of a culture that blends both Mexican and American roots. Celebrations tend to draw both from traditional Mexican symbols, such as the Virgin de Guadalupe, and from prominent figures of Mexican descent in the United States, such as César Chávez.

Visit Annie's Costumes for ponchos, sombreros, decorations and more.