Cinco de Mayo, May 5, is the official holiday which commemorates the history of the Mexican militia’s victory over the French army at the Battle Of Puebla in 1862. In Mexico, it is mainly celebrated in Puebla, the site of the battle. In the United States, however, it has taken on a life of its own and is actually celebrated more broadly, especially along the U.S.-Mexico border. Cinco de Mayo in the U.S. celebrates the Mexican and Mexican-American and history culture that enriched the United States. Cinco de Mayo is often confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is actually September 16th.

If you want to celebrate Mexican and Mexican-American cinematic culture on Cinco de Mayo, then check out these top cinco movies.

1. Ahí está el detalle (1940), directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, is considered the best film of the comic genius Cantinflas, and established him as the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico. In the film, which is filled with physical comedy and social satire, Cantinflas’s character assumes the identity of the master of a household where his girlfriend is actually a made. The results, which include killing a rabid dog, and blackmailing a gigolo, are hysterical.

2. Los Olvidados (1950), directed by Luis Buñuel is a both surrealistic and neo-realistic depiction of the empoverished and marginilaxized children living in the slums of Mexico City. This film was a success at Cannes where it won Best Director and Best Film and is part of UNESCO’s Memory Of The World Register.

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May Day was first celebrated in the U.S. when, in 1886, 300,000 workers walked off their jobs to demand an eight hour workday.You may not know that because while many countries officially recognize the holiday, and almost all countries celebrate it, the U.S. spends May first celebrating Loyalty Day, and National Day of Prayer. Church State non-separation and blind patriotism are a lot more palatable than workers’ rights, humane working conditions, an eight hour work day and other radical notions.
So I say, viewers of the world, UNITE! Celebrate May Day by watching great movies about the workers’ movement. Here are the top 10 May Day movies.

1. Bread and Roses (2000) directed by Ken Loach and starring Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, Jack McGee, is the story about an undocumented woman from Mexico who becomes involved in a campaign to unionize the janitors in a sleek Los Angeles high-rise.

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We all remember the Cary Grants, George Clooneys, Al Pacinos, Robert DeNiros and Brad Pitts - and as wonderful as they all are, a great film they do not make - at least not on their own. Likewise, when it comes to making a difference, or working on an action, not everyone can get the glory. And a solid team is always stronger than one person working alone.

In honor of this, I give you - the Top 10 Actors Consistently in Supporting Roles. Often called character actors, the men below all did their part in smaller roles to make many films much more memorable.

Of course there a ton I didn’t mention - contribute to the discussion and leave your vote in the comments section. And if you want to learn how you can be a team player and TakePart, and sign up here at TakePart.com to join actions and meet folks you can work with and support in making the world a better place.

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1. Ned Beatty : His first role, in Deliverance (1972), set the stage for Ned Beatty to become someone that would entertain us quite frequently. With smaller roles in films that include Network, Superman, All the President’s Men, He Got Game and most recently Charlie Wilson’s War, Ned Beatty is one of the best examples of how being a team player can make the team (in this case “the movie”) something truly amazing. Below is a clip from his great performance in Network.

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