THE TKC SATURDAY NIGHT PLAYLIST!!! ARGUING ABOUT THE MEXICAN FLAG AMID KANSAS CITY CINCO DE MAYO WEEKEND!!!

This weekend Kansas City celebrates our Mexican heritage as Cinco De Mayo festivities dominate local good times and offer everyone an opportunity to eat tacos in the park. 

As always, the most authentic and best party is the Westside Avenida Cesar Chavez celebration thrown by Guadalupe Centers, Inc.

Amid the festivities there's always a point of political point of contention. Invariably, somebody will comment or tell TKC:

"Why are there so many Mexican flags on the Westside, this is 'Merica!!!"

After a deep sigh and a moment of contemplation of the fact that I need to get try and get paid for answering so many questions from white people, TKC attempts to be nice and explains that just like the Irish on St. Paddy' s Day . . . Mexican flags in local Latino neighborhoods are typically a sign of cultural appreciation and not nationalistic identity.

This should be easy to understand given the low voter turnout rates throughout Kansas City and the fact that global corporate rule has pretty much turned almost every expression of patriotism into quaint exercises in branding. But I digress . . .

You get the point . . . Mexican flags are more about ornamentation and not the ominous "reconquista" fantasies dreamed up paranoid reactionaries in between GOP attempts to lure Latino voters.

And so . . . Consider this a Kansas City cultural appreciation teaching moment as a holiday rooted in Chicano history becomes yet another American drinking festival and discount occasion for the fast food industry.

And all this has inspired tonight's Latino themed Cinco Day Mayo weekend playlist . . .



As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe and fun Saturday night.