Who is Joe Campos Torres?

By Millie Diaz
Managing Editor
    Though Cinco de Mayo is an exquisite excuse to get a buzz going, I want to share a few facts about the day before you salt your margarita, tequila shot or shove a lime down the neck of your beer.
    My hope is my information will be a good conversation starter, or a reason for you to take a few minutes to reflect before you start partying.
    I’ve been guilty of assuming May 5 is the equivalent of July 4, but recently learned Mexico celebrates their independence on Sept. 16. Cinco de Mayo actually honors a Mexican victory against the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Because the Mexicans were the underdog in the fight and greatly outnumbered, winning the upper hand was an exceptionally exquisite reason to celebrate back in 1962.
    Here’s another one: do an online search on ‘Joe Campos Torres 1977’ and learn about how his death occurred on May 5 and what the punishment was for his grim reapers. I urge you to find out why it caused the Houston Moody Park riots the next year in 1978.
    Rodney King and the L.A. riots occurred 14 years later.
    I was born in 1979. When I learned about Joe Campos Torres, I understood why God suffered for us at the cross. I also cried on and off for close to an hour.
    My message to whomever is reading this: be inquisitive about everything, learn more, and find out the ugly truth of things. Whether the ugly truths are about yourself, your family, loved ones, friends, your culture, our race – take the time to figure it out.
    The process may not be pretty – that’s why they’re called ugly truths –  but a slice of humble pie can make an ugly truth easier to swallow.
    Okay that’s it, that’s all I have to say. Drink and be merry, and everybody have an adult beverage for me.