Irish Latin Live Music Band

Irish Latinos

Welcome to the ultimate collection of Irish Latino material anywhere.  Throughout our 15 year journey playing Irish and Latin music, our band, La Unica, has heard it all: the San Patricio battalion, the "Black Irish," Galicia, the Irish in Argentina, Irish comedians identifying as Latino, "my mother's Puerto Rican and my dad's Irish!" We're creating this space to celebrate this truly unique cultural gem we've stumbled upon, and we want your help keeping this tradition alive. We’re going to tell you about a new holiday, we’ll define “Irish Latino”, tell you about culture, music, cuisine, celebrities, businesses, and fun facts. Contact us to tell us what we’re missing!

St. Cinco Day

We introduce: St. Cinco Day.  An unofficial holiday celebrated annually on April 11, representing the midway point between St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo. 

We want to make it a celebration and want you to contact us with ideas, cultural traditions, and proposals for how we can best celebrate this holiday.  Whether it’s a handful of things you think folks can do each year on April 11 or a big bash, we want to hear it all.

We have so many wonderful memories playing on St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo.  Creating this holiday will combine the spirit and merriment of each.  We take inspiration from world-renown holiday inventor Frank Costanza. St. Cinco Day involves no feats of strength nor aluminum poles, yet allows for ample tinsel.

We're documenting the wonderful insights, fun trivia, and cultural lore we've acquired over the years and encourage you to keep it coming with any stories, facts, figures, or festivals you'd like to come our way.  We want next April 11 to be special.  

What's an Irish Latino?

We're talking pretty broad definitions here, but any person, place, or thing that can claim a mixed heritage from a "Celtic nation" and a majority Spanish speaking country or region.  This would certainly include the "Celtic" areas of Spain!  Some maps to explain: 

Irish Latino Culture

Cultures of fun, Catholic backgrounds, etc. Irish Latino Culture. Said best here:

Music

This is our specialty.  We've noticed quite a few similarities of Irish and Latin music which help explain why they make this a great pair.  Heavy reliance on acoustic instruments, long instrumental melodies in songs, informal music venues like pubs and backyards, percussion instruments made with animal skin.  The list goes on! 

There are quite a few artists playing this great style.  The Chieftains put out a San Patricio Album with Buena Vista Social Club guitarrist Ry Cooder, Ruben Blades’ Mundo Album has the best version of Danny Boy anywhere, Galician gaitero Carlos Nunez is a staple in this genre, and other bands around the world do it as well: Baile An Salsa (Ireland), Gaelica (Miami), Paper Boys (Canada), Salsa Celtica (Scotland), Celtas Cortos (Spain), La Unica (Washington, DC -that’s us!). Contact us if you hear of any others! We made the ultimate playlist here:

Food ‘N Drink

We love food.  Love.  Admittedly, Irish Latin food sounds just as palatable as Irish Latin music at first.  But, we wonder if, with a few creative combinations and brave experiments, something wonderful can surface.  Lets us know what you come across. Here are a few:

Special Cocktail: Irish Margarita (Irish Whiskey, Blue Curacao, Tequila, Pineapple Juice)

Special Drink: The “San Patricio” - A Guinness and Corona layered pour. Yes you can mix Guinness with almost anything, and this mix is perfect for the occasion. How to pour.

Special Food: “Irish Nachos” - Yes this is a thing! Chips, bacon, chives, cheese, and Guinness. It’s a great combination. Get the full recipe here.

Famous Irish Latinos

Martin Sheen (Galician): Actor.  President Bartlett 

Emilio Estevez: (Galician): Actor.  Gordon Bombay

Charlie Sheen (Galician): Actor.  Wild Thing Ricky Vaughn

Pato O'Ward (Irish father, Mexican mother): Race car driver

Demi Lovato (Irish mother, Mexican father): Singer

Kim Guilfoyle (Irish father, Puerto Rican mother): Media figure

Aubrey Plaza (Irish mother, Puerto Rican father): Actress.  April herself.

Frankie Muniz (Irish mother, Puerto Rican father): Actor.  Malcom in the Middle

Lynda Carter (Irish father, Mexican mother): Actress.  Wonder Woman!!!

Fergie (Scottish-Irish and Mexican ancestry): Singer

Kenny Morrison (Irish, Spanish, & Filipino ancestry): Actor.  Atreyu!!!

Donna Wilkes (Irish father, Salvadorean mother): Actress.  

Scott Herren (Irish/Cuban mother, Spanish father): Music producer.

Mike Lowell: (Cuban parents of Irish and Spanish ancestry) Former baseball player.

Jerry Garcia (Irish mother, Father direct descendent of Galician ancestors): Grateful Dead

Emilio Estefan (Galician maternal grandparents): Music producer.  

Enrique Iglesias (Father's family Galician ancestry): Singer.

Irish Latino Establishments

Slainte Irish Pub: Buenos Aires, Argentina

San Patricios Cantina & Pub: Jersey City, NJ

Pops Public House: Irish Mexican Pub in Gilroy, CA

Juan Murphy’s: Irish Mexican Pub in Poughkeepsie, NY

Doolin Irish Pub: Irish Pub Latina in Peru

Molly’s Irish Bar: Lima, Peru

Limerick Pub: Latino-owned Irish Pub in Wheaton, MD

Saints Row Brewery: Irish Latino-owned brewery in Gaithersburg, MD

Carlos O’Kelly’s: Irish-inspired Mexican pub in Wichita, KS

Paddy’s Irish Pub: Cusco, Peru

Fun Facts

Here is a list of interesting stories related to this topic. Do you have an interesting story about St. Cinco Day? Does your family have this unique mix? We’d love to hear your story.

- The San Patricios battalion were Irish Americans who fought for Mexico in the Mexican-American War. Listen to Liam Neeson tell their story. There’s even a movie about it. And there’s a town in Mexico that still celebrates St. Patrick’s Day.

-Who were the “Black Irish”? Fact or Fiction?

-Irish in Argentina - a significant population.

-The Irish in Latin America has cool history all over the place, here are a few more fun facts!

The’s a Youtuber calling himself “Irish Latino Reacts.” To what? No idea …

-Spain has Celtic regions… Where they play bagpipes. How cool is this?!?!?!?

-The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the United States was in … St. Augustine, Florida in 1601 … put on by Celtic Spaniards? Yes, it’s true! Every year, they put on a great festival which we’ve played!

-Corona commercial, Ireland:

The Irish in Latin America - a cool history with fun facts!

(St. Cinco Day is not to be confused with St. Patrick’s Day, which occurs on March 17, or Cinco de Mayo, which occurs on May 5, or Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on September 16.)

Observed by: Americans, Latino Americans, Irish Americans, Irish Latinos, Americans with Mixed Heritages, and anyone who likes cool things.