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Coffee Break

9:30 Coffee Break: Cinco de Mayo

by Jill Riley and Sean McPherson

May 05, 2015

Fernando Grassi Cueto is a Mexican folklore dancer
Fernando Grassi Cueto gets ready to perform a Mexican folklore dance during the Cinco de Mayo celebration.
MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day that commemorates the defeat of French forces in the city of Puebla in Mexico in 1862.

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day — that's Sept. 16, but Cinco de Mayo remains a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated mostly in Puebla. In the U.S., however, Cinco de Mayo has taken on much more significance, having become a celebration of Mexican-American heritage.

So in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo as a celebration of Mexican-American heritage, we'd like to spotlight music by artists of Mexican descent.

For today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear by artists or by bands with Mexican-American roots? Send us your requests.

Songs Played


Rodrigo Y Gabriela "Buster Voodoo"
Santana "Oye Como Va"
Ritchie Valens "La Bamba"
Augie Garcia "Ivy League Baby"
Mazzy Star "Fade into You"
Los Lobos "Kiki and the Lavender Moon"