Día de la Raza

While tomorrow is the "official" United States celebration, today is the traditional date of what we of the USA call Columbus Day. Here from Wikipedia:

Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.... The day is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in many countries in Latin America, as Día de las Culturas (Day of the Cultures) in Costa Rica, as Discovery Day in The Bahamas and Colombia, as Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Day) and National Day in Spain, and as Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) in Venezuela.

Over the past decades it has become quite controversial. "Why should we celebrate what became a "genocidal" event?" many have asked. The cultural chauvinism of Europeans in regard to the "pagans" and "uncultured" indigenous peoples of the Americas has also been rightly decried.

But it is here and now what can we do about it? The website of the former President of Mexico, Dr. Ernesto Zedillo, in its culture section, commented on some of this.

In Mexico, October 12th is a national holiday known as Día de la Raza or Day of the Race. This date is honored in other countries as Columbus Day and under other names; but the event it commemorates and the way in which it is observed have become quite controversial...

In the words of President Zedillo: "Mexico's cultural strength, which is recognized and admired the world over, is the result of the very rich cultural diversity of our states and regions. Recognizing that diversity, fomenting and disseminating it, is a task of the greatest importance."

Whether one believes that the chance event which took place five hundred and seven years ago was a blessing or a curse, October 12th is an excellent opportunity for us to consider the ramifications it has had on all of our lives.
--Link

So, no matter which side of the argument you will be on tomorrow, take a moment to pause and celebrate the understanding of diversity that we have continued to develop. We can't change what happened, but we can use the lessons of history to take a different approach today.