National identity during periods of controversy: celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Phoenix, Arizona

Abstract

Cinco de Mayo, celebrated by Mexican Americans as well as Americans of other ethnicities, provides an opportunity to examine the influence of ethnic festivals on broader US identity. Given the recent controversy over the immigration bill, State Bill 1070, passed in Arizona in 2010, the themes presented in newspaper articles concerning the celebration of the holiday in Phoenix, Arizona (2006–11) and the public response to these articles are examined. This examination reveals the intense contestation associated with the presentation of symbols and themes of national identity during periods of political controversy. It also illustrates that ordinary people have strong, long‐standing opinions about the future of the nation and national identity and will express their opinions when an outlet is provided to them

Explaining age differences in positive attitudes towards national commemorations: the role of what people commemorate

“…Many inspiring studies on national commemorations have employed qualitative research designs (e.g. Kaftan ; Späth ). We strongly believe that data triangulation involving a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods is essential to arriving at a thorough explanation of the mechanisms underlying attitudes towards national commemorations (see e.g.…”

“…Third, most studies that have examined the feelings of citizens during commemorative moments are based on qualitative methods, including content analysis, participant observation and in‐depth interviewing (e.g. Kaftan ; Späth ). In this article, we use quantitative data to investigate how citizens interpret national commemorations.…”

On the causal relationship between participation in national commemorations and feelings of national belonging

“…There are many different ways in which people can express their attachment to the nation, for example, by listening to home-grown music, watching national television series, reading domestic books or nationalist newspapers, waving the national flag or supporting the national team during international sporting events such as the Olympics and the Football World Cup (Fozdar, Spittles, and Hartley 2015;Meuleman and Lubbers 2013;Skitka 2005). In other words, people who have heightened feelings of national belonging can "consume their nation" in different ways (Fox and Miller-Idriss 2008), and participation in national commemorations and celebrations can, in this regard, be seen as just another platform for citizens who have strong opinions about national identity to express these opinions (Kaftan 2013).…”