April 30, 1999
Sacramento- The CalPart-ners Coalition announced its planned activities to prevent alcohol-related problems and offensive alcohol advertisements during Cinco de Mayo 1998.
CalPartners, a statewide network of community-based substance abuse prevention coalitions, launched the "Cinco de Mayo con Orgullo" (Cinco de Mayo with Pride) campaign in March after releasing a report showing the negative health, social and economic effects alcohol has on the Latino community. It also highlighted past problems during several Cinco de Mayo celebrations around the state.
The CalPartners report, "Alcohol and Latinos," showed that:
- liver disease is the sixth-leading cause of death among Latinos;
- a concentration of alcohol outlets and advertisements in Latino communities increase rates of violent crime against Latinas; and
- school children in Latino communities can see up to 61 alcohol advertisements on their way to and from school each day.
In addition, past Cinco de Mayo celebrations in cities such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, Union City and San Jose have been marred by alcohol-related crime and violence. The Cinco de Mayo con Orgullo campaign is an effort to prevent these types of problems.
CalPartners today called on individuals and businesses alike to remember what is important on Cinco de Mayo. "Cinco de Mayo remembers an important day in the struggle for Mexican Sovereignty," said CalPartners Project Director Eduardo Hernandez. "Cinco de Mayo should be celebrated as a family time of remembrance, not just an excuse to consume large amounts of alcohol.
"All over California during the next week we will be bombarded with advertisements promoting beer, and drink specials at bars and restaurants. Some of these promotions encourage unsafe drinking, misuse cultural symbols and sometimes demean Latinas. We want to make people aware of that our health and cultural integrity is at risk when these types of promotions saturate communities," Hernandez said.
CalPartners members in Sacramento, Stockton, Hayward, San Jose, Salinas, Santa Cruz, Ventura, and Oxnard, Los Angeles and Pomona will be organizing activities to promote safe celebrations, responsible marketing, alcohol-free Cinco de Mayo events and information on the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo.
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