You have to ask given our plans to launch a Bocce Ball League on Cinco de Mayo at a NeighborSpace site –

DATE & TIME: Sunday May 5, 5 to 8 PM

LOCATION: 138 Newburg Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228

FARE: Tacos from Catonsville’s El Patron, Mexican beer, wine & other beverages

COST:  No charge, but donations to support NeighborSpace & the bocce ball effort will be accepted

REGISTER HERE

The answer to how these seemingly disparate things go together is simple. They’re all, in a word, “imported,” borrowed for our own use and enjoyment from other cultures and/or places. Let me explain --

Cinco de Mayo, Spanish for “fifth of May,” is an annual Mexican celebration to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Some people say that, had the French prevailed, they might have come North to support the South in the American Civil War, perhaps altering our history dramatically. In the U.S. today, however, the day has become associated with a celebration of Mexican-American culture. According to Wikipedia, commercial interests have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican goods, beverages, food and music. Wikipedia reports that $600 million worth of beer was purchased in the U.S. for Cinco de Mayo in 2013, more than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day.

Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the “boules” family, games in which the objective is to throw or roll a ball as close as possible to a smaller ball called a “jack.” These games are native to and popular in Europe and in some parts of Africa and Asia. (We could find no reference to their adoption in Mexico, however, something that would have made the writing of this piece a little easier). Immigrants to the U.S. from Italy are credited with making the game popular here. Thankfully, history shows that boules games are often played in open spaces and parks, something with which we have more than a passing familiarity.

NeighborSpace of Baltimore County got its start after its founders, concerned with finding a model for protecting small parcels of land for public use inside the URDL, visited an urban land trust in Chicago. If you haven’t already surmised it, that organization’s name is “NeighborSpace.” It remains the only nonprofit land trust in that city that preserves and sustains gardens on behalf of dedicated community groups.

So there you have it, a celebration of great “imports” from Mexico, Italy, and Chicago in the melting pot we all know as Catonsville! Please join us on May 5 and use the share buttons below to invite friends and neighbors!