A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 5, 2003
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Capitol Region Dairy Team
LEARNING ABOUT
MEXICAN HOLIDAYS
Vinton E. Smith
Dairy Management Agent
Capitol Region
You might first ask yourself,
“Why is this guy who works with
dairy farms writing about Mexi
can holidays?” Well, it is quite an
interesting story.
About five years ago, I was
working with dairy farms in cen
tral New York, many of which
were employing Mexican and
other Latin American workers.
At that time, I knew very little
about the workers’ cultural back
ground. However, I realized that
there was a growing need for
training programs to help the
workers and farm owners to be
more successful. Hence, my inter
est really began to grow.
Since that time, I have been in
volved with many different pro
grams that have broadened my
perspective and understanding of
the Mexican culture. These in
clude coordinating a milker
training school in Spanish, facili
tating four Spanish For Dairy
men classes with 48 farm owners
or employees, and I helped to de
velop and coordinate four “Man
aging the Hispanic Workforce”
conferences.
Now my family and I live and
work in Adams County, an area
with a growing Mexican and
Latin American population. Vis
iting with and leaning about our
Latino neighbors has been a very
rewarding and enriching experi
ence!
One of the most interesting
things I have learned about the
Mexican culture is their apprecia
tion of traditional and religious
“das festivos” or holidays. Here
are highlights of a few of the
most important:
• Semana Santa. Semana
Santa or Holy Week celebrates
the Christian holiday of Easter
and runs from Palm Sunday to
Easter Sunday. Since about 90
percent of Mexicans are Catholic,
attending Mass on Good Friday
and Easter Sunday are typical
traditions. This is also a time that
Mexicans enjoy celebrating with
their families and communities.
• Cinco de Mayo. The Cinco
de Mayo or “The Fifth of May”
commemorates Mexico’s victory
over the French in The Battle of
Puebla in 1862. France had in
vaded the Gulf Coast of Mexico
with their army of 6,500 well-pre
pared soldiers. They were in
route to Mexico City when they
were defeated by a smaller, poor
ly outfitted Mexican army of
4,500 that was lead by Mexican
General Ignacio Zaragoza Se
i>uin. The victory was a splendid
moment for the Mexican people,
however, Napoleon sent 30,000
nore troops and was eventually
able to defeat the Mexican army,
fake over Mexico City, and install
fjench rule over Mexico. This
only lasted a few years, ending as
the U.S began providing more
political and military assistance
to Mexico. Even though the
French did eventually defeat
Mexico, Cinco de Mayo honors
the bravery of General Zarago
za’s small, outnumbered militia
at the Battle of Puebla.
• Mexican Independence Day.
Mexican Independence Day is
celebrated on Sept. 16 and com
memorates the start of the battle
for independence from Spain.
Early on the morning of Sept. 16,
1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla,
a Catholic priest in the village of
Dolores, delivered “El Grito de
Dolores.” This “Cry of Dolores”
was “Mexicanos, Viva Mexico!”
and was directed toward the In
dian and mestizo people who had
been exploited by the Spaniards.
Hidalgo’s cry inspired the revolu
tion and he became known as the
father of Mexican independence.
• Dade los Muertos. The
“Day of the Dead” celebrations
take place on Nov. 1 and 2, All
Saints Day and All Souls Day, re
spectively. This tradition stems
from ancient indigenous people
of Mexico who believed that the
souls of the dead “return” to be
with the living every year. While
the celebration varies across dif
ferent regions of Mexico, the fes
tivities often begin with families
fixing up the graves of deceased
relatives and even building elabo
rate altars at the cemeteries. One
candle is placed for each dead
soul. The altars are often decora
ted with marigolds (the tradition
al flower of the dead), mementos,
photos and other remembrances
of the dead. They celebrate by
eating traditional foods such as
“pan de muerto” (bread of the
dead) and favorite foods of their
deceased relatives.
• Dade Nuestra Seora de
Guadalupe. The “Virgin of Gua
dalupe Day” is in honor of Mexi
co’s patron saint and is cele
brated on Dec. 12. The history of
this holiday dates back to 1531
when Juan Diego was crossing a
barren hill called Tepeyac Hill to
attend Mass. Suddenly, he was
stopped by a bright light and the
sound of heavenly music. Then a
beautiful dark-skinned woman
declared herself to be the Virgin
Mary and mother of Jesus Christ.
She told Juan Diego of her desire
to have a church built on that
barren hill and asked him to
relay that message to the Bishop.
When Diego was finally able to
speak to the Bishop, the Bishop
asked for proof that this encoun
ter really took place. A few days
later, The Virgin once again ap
peared to Diego on Tepeyac Hill.
He explained the Bishop’s re
quest. She instructed him to pick
roses from the hill, a place where
roses didn’t typically grow, and
deliver them to the Bishop as a
sign of this encounter. When
Diego laid the roses out for the
Bishop, a perfect image of “La
Virgen Morena” (the Dark Vir
gin) was revealed on Juan Die
go’s cloak. The Bishop then or
dered that a small church be built
on the site of the “appearance.”
Today, a much larger Basilica
has been built in honor of the
“Virgen de Guadalupe.” Careful
ly preserved inside is Juan Die
go’s miraculous cloak that still
has a very clear image of the
“Virgen de Guadalupe” imprint
ed on it. Interestingly, just last
‘Moo University * Looks At Cow Health
ANDY ANDREWS
Editor
NEW HOLLAND (Lancaster
Co.) Vaccination programs for
heifers should start not real early,
but at the right time about 4-6
months of age to get maximum
herd health benefits, according to
a Penn State veterinarian.
Dr. Arlen Mills noted that
modified live vaccines are used to
protect the young cow for a host
of diseases he reviewed last week
at a special beginning and young
dairy farmer meeting called
“Moo University” at Yoder’s
Restaurant in New Holland.
Mills, along with Penn State
Dairy Agent Beth Grove, spoke
to a couple dozen dairy produc
ers and agri-industry representa
tives at the Penn State event.
The capitol region extension
veterinarian, based in Lebanon
County, noted how important it
is to maintain good biosecurity
when using vaccines.
“Don’t put a used needle into
the bottle of vaccine,” he caution
ed the young dairy farmers.
He told them that several doses
are needed to protect the cow
from disease.
“If you use only one dose, the
heifer is not vaccinated,” Mills
said. “You have to follow up with
a second dose. Follow the instruc
tions on these items.”
Also, it’s important not to let
the vaccines, especially modified
live, to sit in the sun. And don’t
use a disinfectant in the syringe,
because that kills the vaccine.
Mills reviewed various diseases
at the “Moo University”:
• IBR. Known as infectious
bovine rhinotracheitis virus, the
agent is a herpes virus that in
fects through the respiratory sys
tem). It causes abortions.
• PI 3. Also called para-influ
enza, the disease infects the respi
ratory system. A mild infection
follows, which gives bacteria the
opportunity to invade.
• BRSV. The bovine respirato
ry syncitial virus causes pneumo
nia. Acidosis seems to be a trig
ger, but it can affect cows and
calves.
• BVD. Bovine virus diarrhea
affects the respiratory, digestive,
and reproductive tracts, affecting
the immune system as well. It
creates lesions and ulcers over
different parts of the body. It’s
important to know that the per
sistently infected cow becomes so
only when it is exposed as a fetus
(cows get only a transient or mild
infection that doesn’t last, but
can infect the growing r fetus).
BVD causes lots of reproduction
problems.
year, Pope John Paul II raised
Juan Diego to Sainthood.
• Las Posadas y Navidad. Las
Posadas is the start of the Christ
mas season and celebrates Joseph
and Mary’s search for a room at
an inn in Bethlehem. Navidad is
similar to our traditional reli
gious Christmas celebration.
Navidad is one of the biggest fies
tas of the year. People all across
Mexico take time off and make
spending time with family and
friends a priority. One of the big
gest traditions is “Las Posadas,”
which takes place during the 12
days before Christmas and is a
procession that grows in numbers
as it makes it way to the church.
Once at the church, a celebration
of mass is held. Then, the adults
visit and enjoy everyone’s compa
ny while the children enjoy play
ing games and breaking piatas.
Overall, Christmas is more then
just one day, it truly is a cele
bration of the Christmas season.
Special thanks to Leticia Be
tances for her review of and con
tributions to this article. Refer
ences: http://www.mexonline.com
and http://span»shiabeutiC6m-. - - -
Dr. Arlen Mills, Penn State herd health veterinarian,
joins Beth Grove, Lancaster County dairy agent, at the re
cent Moo University at Yoder’s Restaurant in New Hol
land. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor
• Leptospirosis. Producers can
vaccinate for five strains. Bacte
ria infect kidneys and abortions
can be caused at 6-9 months.
Source may be water or rodents.
It’s important to get the heifers
vaccinated as early as possible,
Mills noted, before they are in
fected.
Also, it’s important to focus on
the overall herd immunity by
looking at colostrum manage
ment, ventilation, and not to vac
cinate too young (at 3-5 weeks, a
calf’s immune system is only be
ginning to build up).
Keep a wary eye on the calf s
health at a month of age, accord
ing to Mills, because “the calf is
in a precarious place” in terms of
its health.
Also, watch body conditioning
on the cows, supplement with Vi
tamin E and selenium in the diet,
and feed the cow “to feed the
calf,” Mills said.
Mills reviewed key health
guidelines in maternity pens,
keeping pens clean, and keeping
calves away from the older ani
mals to prevent Johne’s Disease.
When calving, learn how to
wait and be patient, noted the
veterinarian.
Beth Grove, Lancaster dairy
agent, reviewed where Lancaster
herds stand in terms of overall
production. Grove noted that
Lancaster falls short on days to
first service (a good goal should
be 75, she noted, while Lancaster
stands, on average, at 96).
Shortening those days can add
up to major dollars for producers.
Greater dry matter intake could
be key to a cow ovulating earlier
after calving.
Cow comfort and footing are
essential. Producers could also be
selecting for poor reproductive
traits as they search for improved
production genetics.
Herd managers should have
roughly half the herd pregnant at
any given time, she said, with a
13.5-month calving interval.
Grove reviewed some of the
new research that debunks sever
al accepted norms. The old rea
soning that cows would stay in
heat 18 hours, be observable in
heat at night, and go back to
being in heat every 21 days is
being rethought. Cows today are
different, according to one study,
that showed cows stay in heat
only eight hours, with only nine
mounts or stands per heat period
(Holstein) or 12 mounts for Jer
seys.
Cows are also more likely to
show heats not necessarily at
night, but when first turned out
or when not eating or resting.
“Cows do not fit into the mold
that we used to think they did,”
said Grove.
Grove spoke about technology
to detect heat, such as Heat-
Watch, using a pressure-type pad
and radio signal telemetry. Cost
for a 100-cow dairy to detect
mounts is about $6,000, she said.
Grove noted that meetings
such as “Moo University” could
be continued at later dates
around the county.