Footage of a Mexican restaurant in northeastern Florida went viral after its customers were caught on camera standing to the “Star Spangled Banner” on the eve of Cinco de Mayo.
A brief video clip showing a handful of customers standing awkwardly inside Ole’s Mexican Restaurant in Jacksonville while a man sang and played the national anthem on electric guitar has been viewed more than a half-million times since being shared on social media by a fellow diner.
“BRUH IM AT A MEXICAN RESTAURANT AND WHITE PEOPLE REALLY REQUESTED THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AND STOOD UP FOR IT LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” Twitter user @J_Nubz captioned a six-second video tweeted from the restaurant last Friday.
BRUH IM AT A MEXICAN RESTAURANT AND WHITE PEOPLE REALLY REQUESTED THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AND STOOD UP FOR IT LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/ABvcOlFx4P
— nubz (@J_Nubz) May 4, 2018
The video has since been shared over 12,000 times, prompting further explanation in the interim from the social media user who shared it.
“So they have a guy who comes in and takes requests every Friday night. Mexican guy, plays anything. Country, rock. You name it. White guy comes up, requests the national anthem. About 10 people stand up like we’re at a sporting event with their hands on their hearts. Very weird,” the Twitter user tweeted over the weekend.
Indeed, the peculiarly patriotic encounter occurred on the Friday preceding May 5, or Cinco de Mayo, the anniversary of Mexico’s victory over France in the 1862 Battle of Puebla, and a holiday widely celebrated within the U.S., especially at Mexican establishments.
“I know everyone says I should have kneeled, but it wasn’t the right place,” added the Twitter user. “I didn’t want all the angry old whites upset and not tipping their waitresses.”
While the national anthem may have seemed out of place at a Mexican restaurant on the eve of Cinco de Mayo, some eateries have established themselves by being overtly patriotic every day their doors are open. The pledge of allegiance has been recited every morning since 1989 inside Chick and Ruths Delly in Annapolis, Maryland, while the Virginia Beach location of Mission BBQ, a military-themed barbecue chain, turns off its televisions at exactly 12 noon every day and plays the “Star Spangled Banner,” The Virginia Pilot reported in 2016.
“We call it the best two minutes of the day,” Mission BBQ manager Steve Lippert said previously.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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