Cinco de Mayo 2012 was an intense one for me this year. Kicking off with day two of RVA BeerFest, it also featured a visit from President Obama (no big deal), and also a little visit from Daily Show correspondent Al Madrigal at one of our own local bars. Obama, beers, The Daily Show–what could go wrong?
The truth is, with so much going on in RVA, I couldn’t actually accomplish everything. My apologies to President Obama for missing the rally, but I’d volunteered my time for the RVA BeerFest to sell raffle tickets. Conveniently, the transcription of the speeches can be found online. Obama ventured to Richmond to rally support for re-election in November promoting the key piece for his campaign, “Forward. Not Back.” While the Siegel Center was bursting with politics and support–or unsupported politics, whichever way you interpret it–another form of support was taking place just a few blocks down the street at Gallery 5. This support was for community, local music, art, and of course, beer. The threat of rain did not keep people away from RVA BeerFest, nor did it stop people from having a good time. Perhaps I’m biased, as I was on staff, but I truly had a blast. So much of a blast, in fact, that I was properly tipsy by the time I caught a cab over to Baja Bean Co.
Baja Bean Co. notably has one of the best and largest patios in town, perfect for any celebration, especially Cinco de Mayo. It was the perfect place for the Daily Show to capture the spirit of the people, and have a little political conversation with people who had spirits in their hands. And for what purpose? To have some fun, and make Richmond look like idiots. I–hopefully not regrettably–being one of them. Al Madrigal, reporting corespondent, was on the scene in a suit and tie, incredibly straight faced and all business, scoping out the multiple rooms, camera crew at his side, hunting (and not having to look very hard) for those who were properly sloshed and ready for questioning. He chose his victims, asked about the issues brought up in Obama’s speech, and received the perfect drunken, incoherent responses. I’ve ask myself since Saturday: “How the hell did I manage to get caught up in front of that video camera?” I had all intentions of avoiding it, especially as a fan of the Daily Show who knows all too well of their coercing and editing capabilities! I guess I just got caught up in the moment.
After watching the live broadcast of the episode last night, all I can say is THANK GOD they didn’t show over half the things that I did say. Also, how the hell did I actually seem the most sober out of everyone? (What can I say? I’ve got skills.) Looking back, I know I threw a lot of hard “F’s,” and was asked about “bong rips,” which was hilarious enough to completely distract me from watching the rest of the segment get filmed. But in the end, it was all in good fun. So let’s not let this be an embarrassment, Richmond. If nothing else, remember what President Obama says: “Forward. Not Back.”
