4th of July Independence Day beer, new car, furniture store, and supermarket barbecue promotions have come and gone. There’s nothing as American as the commercialization of a public holiday.
Ditto even when the patriotic celebrations are from someplace else. But before referencing one more merchant’s holiday-themed sales gimmick, let me first clear up any Corona-induced confusion over Cinco de Mayo supposedly being the Mexican equivalent of “4th of July.” Today, September 16th, and not “May 5th” or “Taco Tuesday” is Mexican Independence Day.
So it not being ‘Cinco de Mayo,’ Mexican Independence Day Celebrations began last night with the traditional shout of Dolores in Mexico, Additional celebrating will occur today.
The 16th of September is the date that commemorates the day 203 years ago today, when in the town of Dolores, near Guanajuato, Mexico, Father Miguel Hidalgo called his fellow Mexicans to arms to shake off the Spanish yoke.
On the night of September 15, 1810, he rang the church bell to call his congregation to the church and to rally them what’s known as El Grito de Dolores with “Viva Mexico” and “Viva la independencia!”
No surprise, there were festivities aplenty both yesterday and today. Most notably around here, there’s the one involving a local merchant’s act of contrition.
It’s a marketing promotion by that supposed Aztec-two-stepping Mexican restaurant I posted about last month. It’s the eatery where as many as 74 restaurant patrons were allegedly sickened by something they claim they ate there. Lawyers and litigation have ensued.
Well, not to miss out and to possibly make up, The Mexican Independence holiday presented an opportunity for the Mexican Restaurant in question to try to put all the bad press behind them. They’re doing so by offering free burritos today only.
Free burritos must be the new face of ‘damage-control.’ Linda Cobb aka the “Queen of Clean” is also supposed to be there.
I don’t know how many people will be taking Federico’s Mexican Food’s free burrito offer. No pun intended, but I’m going to pass.
FREE CLE but no free burrito.
But for something more substantive — than a free burrito, here’s one more shout-out of a different sort — for FREE CLE.
Offered by the Practising Law Institute (PLI), it’s an all-day program — a primer on “How to File a Chapter 7” for new practitioners and those interesting in assisting pro bono bankruptcy clients.
Check whether it’s approved in your own jurisdiction, although per the PLI website, it’s already approved for 7 credit hours in New York. My usual disclaimers apply.
Bankruptcy Basics for Low-Income Clients
San Francisco and Live Webcast, Thursday, September 26, 2013, beginning at 9 AM (Pacific). From PLI’s program description:
- An overview of Chapter 7 bankruptcy, including legal sources, jurisdiction, venue, eligibility and the parties
- Your duties as a bankruptcy attorney and debt relief agency, how to evaluate and interview a client, how to choose between Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, and your responsibilities of investigation (due diligence)
- How the discharge works and the effectiveness of the automatic stay
- How to protect the debtor’s property through exemptions
- An in-depth overview of the means test
- How to prepare the schedules in a Chapter 7 and prepare your client for the meeting of creditors
FREE
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Photo Credit: “Cinco_de_Mayo-2010-3,” by Kyle Nishioka at Flickr via Creative Commons-license required attribution; “Gringo,” by jaqian at Flickr via Creative Commons-license requiring attribution; Miguel Hidalgo, by Antonio Fabres, at Wikipedia Commons, source http://www.inehrm.gob.mx via U.S. copyright expiration public domain, United States public domain tag.
