Washington's Birthday Celebration on the Rio Grande

The U.S. city with the highest Hispanic percentage of residents has been celebrating the birth of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington, for over a century now. It was first initiated by a group of Anglo-Texans and Anglo-Americans to promote a more "American" celebration in a city whose Mexican residents were newly-acquired (or purchased) as a result of the United States winning a war with Mexico. The old Spaniards/Mexicans/Texanos and new immigrants from the states were at a crossroads and both lacked a successful strategy for assimilation in this new political culture. And thus the creative process of assimilation began on the streets of Laredo.

Almost 120 years later, the assimilation efforts failed and instead created a hybrid culture of Americans that speak two languages and share the history and heritage of two countries. George Washington in WBCA has become the "Saint Patrick" of St. Patrick's Day -- a figure who definitely has a history with the holiday, but no one really cares to find out why.

It's truly odd to see festivities that are aimed to be patriotic of the United States, celebrating the founding and traditional values of the colonies, with minorities, many of which dominate the Spanish language better than English.

There are some festivities that are just a little too out there. The Society of Martha Washington is the closet thing that Laredo has to a royal family.

And the Princess Pocahontas Pageant is, although I understand its initial intentions, racist towards the living Native Americans whose tribes the high school beauty queens supposedly represent.

George Washington, a slave owner, is probably rolling over in his grave.