LONG LIVE THE ALAM0!

Mexican culture invades daily U.S. life.

BETWEEN GUTIERREZ AND DE LA GUERRA STREETS, A DOZEN SHOPS SELL everything from sarapes, and spinning tops to tamarind ice cream and Canals chewing gum. In the background you can hear the music of the Regios del Norte.

A huge sign says: "Order Your Fiesta Dress Now!" Meanwhile on the street, for every American flag waving on the street there's a Mexican flag. No, we are not on the border, but in the California tourist city of Santa Barbara, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, where people are preparing to celebrate the great fiesta of the Cinco de Mayo.

Cinco de Mayo? "Yes! It's Independence Day in Mexico, it means the Fifth of May ... you know? Like the Fourth of July is for us," says a friendly American teenager working for Borders Bookstore.

Mexican independence? Not quite. It is simply the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, which took place in 1862 between Napoleon III's French troops and a peasant Mexican army. Historic details aside, what matters is that Cinco de Mayo is becoming a symbol of Mexican culture north of the Rio Grande, and not just in California but in other states as well. The U.S. Post Office has even issued a commemorative stamp.

Ethnic explosion. "I think Cinco de Mayo is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. It's sort of like the St. Patrick's Day of the next millennium," says Pete Hamill, a Brooklyn-born author who divides his time between Mexico and New York.

Mexican culture, once considered part of a tiny ethnic market, is becoming part of the U.S. mainstream. Everything that smells of Mexico--from food, beer, music or national holidays--is selling like hotcakes. "Mexico is recovering its lost territory gastronomically," says Carlos Monsivais, a well-known Mexican author.

To get a sense of how the U.S. consumer is assimilating, one need only look at the changes in eating habits: at what is selling on supermarket shelves and at the latest hot restaurants in large cities. Mexican food is packing them in.

"Food is the way Americans start to experience other cultures," says Hamill. "It started with Italian; then Americans discovered some Jewish and German foods, and now it's Mexican... and that's because everyday hay mas y mas mexicanos! (there are more and more Mexicans!)"

True enough. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 59% of the 30 million Hispanics living in the U.S. are of Mexican origin. By the year 2010, there will be an estimated 41.5 million Hispanics in the U.S., 25.6 million of them Mexican, (See chart on page 54.)

"The Mexican presence is growing not just in California, Texas and New York. but also in places like Minnesota and Michigan, where no one ever imagined there could be a significant Mexican population:' says Andrew Erlich, head of market research firm Erlich Transcultural Consultant. He concludes: "We're talking about something deeper, from lifestyle to food to dance and music."

More and more, those checking out Mexican food are not necessarily Hispanic. The typical U.S. consumer discovered long ago that Mexican food is more than the familiar Tex-Mex.

The American stomach is quickly becoming used to the exotic flavors brought by immigrants who come to stay. It is no coincidence, say many, that at least when it comes to fast food, tacos have begun to take the place of hamburgers among the younger set, not to mention spicy salsa, which is leaving the traditional ketchup in the dust.

"Americans are getting to know Mexican food. Not only are they familiar with mole poblano, they can tell the difference between a good mole poblano and a not-so-good one," says Gregorio Camarillo proudly. Camarillo is an employee at The Gardens of Taxco, a Mexican restaurant in the heart of Hollywood frequented by the likes of Janet Jackson, Charles Bronson, Dolly Parton and Quentin Tarantino.

Dave DeWitt, editor of Fiery Foods Magazine, an Albuquerque, N.M. publication dedicated to spicy food, says Americans have realized that hot peppers are no longer exotic, and they're learning to like them. The reason, DeWitt says, is simple: Shifting immigration patterns.

"A hundred years ago, we were Europeans. Now we are becoming more Latin, though spicy food is certainly not exclusive to Mexicans. Indian and Thai dishes are hot, too. But it was definitely Mexicans who led the way," says DeWitt, adding: "Spicy food is now part of life in the U.S., and not only in states like California, Texas or New Mexico ... it's all over the place."

Salt and lime. Americans have learned to eat Mexican food, but the preference toward low or no-fat foods has made it necessary to play around with some traditional recipes. You can find fat-free pozole, light enchilada sauce, soy chorizo sausage or non-fat tortillas in U.S. supermarkets, creating a neither-here-nor-there cuisine.

The changes are not limited to food. Although it is no longer news that Corona is the number one imported beer in the United States, American beer drinkers now brag of their sophisticated ways.

That's because' they have a lot to choose from. According to New York market research firm Beverage Marketing Corporation, of the 30 top imported beers in the United States, seven are from Mexico. Corona is number one, followed by Tecate, Dos Equis, Modelo Especial, Corona Light, Pacifico and Negra Modelo. And while Canadian beers are experiencing a marked decrease in volume of U.S. sales, Mexican beers are growing at an annual 40% rate. By comparison, Heineken, once the number one import, is growing at a 5.3% yearly clip.

Among spirits, tequila is charging ahead at a torrid pace in import growth, variety, and consumption in the United States. Even though average alcohol consumption has been steadily decreasing over the past few years, tequila has been an exception. Its consumption has doubled since 1985, to 15.7 million gallons in 1998.

Tequila "is one of the most robust spirits category in the United States," says Lisa Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Distilled Spirits Council, based in Washington, D.C. "And I can tell you that across the country, all restaurants and bars are increasing their selection of tequila."

The other salsa. For many Mexicans, the liquor store and supermarket shelves offer genuine novelties, with little-known brands such as Two Fingers, Montezuma, Don Cesar Monterrey, Jarana and Puerto Vallarta, some selling for as much as $60 a bottle. Tequila has surpassed its reputation as a vulgar drink associated with Mexican bandits to become something a lot more chic.

"Tequila is cutting across a broad spectrum," says Chris Klinefelter, spokesman for Brown-Forman, a U.S. firm that announced a deal with Jalisco-based Tequila Orendain to distribute its premium tequila brands worldwide. Although some attribute the growth in tequila drinking to excellent marketing, the trend has legs: Tequila sales grew 31% between 1994 and 1998, to reach $1.56 billion.

Music is also getting big. Sales of Latin music in the U.S. grew 16% in 1998 to $571 million. Though its sales volume is a small 4.1% of the huge $13.7 billion music market, it does reflect the growing passion for things Latin, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Even though in most of the U.S. Latin American music is associated with Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, Chicana performer Selena or Cuban-American artist Gloria Estefan, many Mexican bands and performers are slowly finding their way into the mainstream.

"Music is another way Americans absorb and get the feeling of a culture," says Hamill. He tells a story about one of his recent visits to New York, where he was surprised to find standing-room only at Luis Miguel concerts at Radio City Music Hall. The biggest irony is the Mexican crooner's show featured songs from the 1950s. Says Hamill: "Agustin Lara was given to us new!"

Miami-Mex. Another new face in the U.S. music scene is Alejandro Fernandez, son of famed Mexican charro Vicente Fernandez. The groups Mana and Cafe Tacuba are making headway in pop and rock music, while others, not yet as popular, are just beginning to make themselves known.

"I would say Thalia is close, but not quite there yet," says Erick Sorensen, a Miami businessman who imports and sells Mexican furniture and crafts nationwide. "I'd say Mexican music is larger than the actual Mexican population in Miami," says Sorensen. Mexicans make up a small part of the immigrant population in Florida's Cuban stronghold.

For skeptics such as Marcelo Salup, vice-president of advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding, "Mexican things just don't exist here [in Miami.] The only thing Mexican is Taco Bell, and if you ask a waiter for a Dos Equis, he'll look at you as if you're speaking another language."

Could be, but even Miami, which bills itself as the capital of Latin America, is turning Mexican. Univision's Channel 23, the local affiliate of the largest Spanish-language TV network in the United States, leads the ratings in the area, beating out the English-language stations. The majority of its programming originates in Mexico, and the network itself is partly controlled by Mexico-based Televisa.

Last year, for the second time in the center of the city, Miamians celebrated September 15, the real Mexican Independence Day. There were tacos, folk dances and tequila. Sorensen adds, "Cinco de Mayo is becoming huge out here, even though there is a very small Mexican population."

Espanol Spoken Here

* The Hispanic market in the United States comprises 30 million people, or 11.5% of the total population.

* 17.7 million are of Mexican origin, equivalent to 20% of Mexico's population.

* There are more than 1.3 million Hispanic businesses--50% of them owned by Mexicans--with annual sales of $138 billion.

* By the year 2010, there will be an estimated 41.5 million Hispanics in the U.S., 25.6 million of Mexican origin.

* The United States will become the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world by the year 2010, after Mexico.

* Hispanics in the United States will have a purchasing power of $965 billion in 2010.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau