Greetings, and welcome to the second edition of Fair Grounds! Thanks to all the readers who graciously provided feedback on our April issue. Quite frankly, we were overwhelmed with your positive comments, and we hope we can continue bringing you a newsletter that will inform, educate and entertain. Look for the Fair Grounds newsletter to hit your e-mail box once a month, towards the middle of the month. We promise it'll be the only e-mail promotion you'll get from us.

In this month's edition of Fair Grounds, we're commemorating the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo. And to kick it off, we asked our staffer and friend Maria De La Paz to share with you (in English and in Spanish) what Cinco de Mayo means to her and her culture.

"Hello! I am Maria and I’ve been working for Café Campesino for awhile. I am from the beautiful state of Chiapas, Mexico. Independence Day in Mexico is September 16, and it is the most important non-religious day of the year. However in the month of May, we celebrate another very special day…Cinco de Mayo! Parading down the streets of our town, the men are dressed in white linen pants and shirts. We women wear colorful, long flowing skirts and blouses. Traditionally, after the parade we eat red "mole" with rice and beans. All this is done to celebrate the defeat of the French army by Mexicans at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

The state of Puebla is located in the southern most part of Mexico. It has one of the highest volcanoes in the country, which is approximately 7 km high and is covered with snow. In agriculture, Puebla produces apples, avocados, coffee, and oranges; however, corn is its principle crop. Among its natural attraction, one can find the hot springs of Chignahuapan, the Valley of the rock in Zacatlán, and the natural springs of Tehuacan. Besides its historical district, Puebla has been declared as the cultural inheritance of humanity.

Knowing the problems that we have in Mexico, it gives me great pleasure to collaborate with Café Campesino, which tries to help our people by paying them a fair price for their coffee. Like it is known, it is difficult to get companies to pay farm workers a fair wage. But Café Campesino is one of the few companies that is doing so. This is so important for our people who are coffee producers. We Chiapanecos have great hope that one day the organic coffee that is produced in Chiapas will also be produced in other parts of our country. Because of this I give thanks in the name of my fellow Chiapanecos to Café Campesino!"

— Maria De La Paz


Spanish Translation:

"Hola! Yo soy Maria y hace tiempo que trabajo para Café Campesino. Soy del hermoso estado de Chiapas. El día de Independencia en México es el 16 de septiembre y es la fecha más importante para los mexicanos. Pero en el mes de mayo, celebramos otro día muy especial…el Cinco de Mayo! Desfilando por las calles de nuestro pueblo, los hombres se visten con pantalones y camisas blancas de lino. Las mujeres no vestimos de falda larga amplia de muchos colores y las blusas de igual forma. Despúes del desfile se come tradicionalmente mole rojo con arroz y frijoles. Todo esto para celebrar la caída de los franceces ante los poblanos el 5 de mayo.

El estado de Puebla está ubicado al sureste del altíplano central de la república méxicana. Tiene uno de los más altos volcanes del país que mide aproximadamente 7 km de longitud y está cubierta de nieve. La agricultura produce manzana, aguacate, café, y naranga. Entre los atractivos naturals se encuentran las agues termales de Chignahuapan, el valle de piedras encimadas en Zacatlán, y las manantiales de Tehuacan. Ademas del centro historico, Puebla ha sido declarado patrimonio cultural de la humanidad.

Conocedora de los problemas que tenemos en nuestro país, me da mucho gusto colaborar con estas personas que tratan de ayudar a nuestra gente, pagandoles un precio justo por el café. Como es sabido es difícil que se nos pague un buen precio por nuestro producto. Pero Café Campesino es una de las pocas cooperatives que lo está haciendo. Es tan importante para nuestra gente productora de café. Los chiapanecos tenemos la gran esperanza de que un día el café orgánico que se produce en Chiapas sea también producido en otras partes de nuestro país. Por esto te doy las gracias a nombre de mi pueblo y gracias a Café Campesino."

— Maria De La Paz

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