The events range from fundraisers for Superstorm Sandy survivors and family events for the kids to local bars and restaurants offering specials on burritos, margaritas and Coronas—so break out that souvenir sombrero from Cancun.

But, before leaving the house in a poncho, here’s a quick North American history refresher lesson:  Cinco de Mayo is not—like some people mistakenly believe—Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept.16.

The holiday commemorates the Battle of Puebla, when Mexican forces turned back invading French troops in 1862—a symbol of resiliency for the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking nation.

And for those who still remember their high school Spanish 101, here’s a potentially useful bonus factoid—a Mexican saying that may come in handy on the Long Island Rail Road this weekend: “A boca de borracho, oídos de cantinero.”

It translates to “the mouth of drunk, ears of barman.” It basically means ignore the loud drunks.

Saturday
10 a.m.-5 p.m., Cinco de Mayo Dive Meet, Nassau County Aquatic Center, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, 516-572-0501.

2-4 p.m., Cinco de Mayo at the Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Ave., Garden City, 516-224-5800.

Cinco de Mayo Kickoff Party, Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub, 275 Rte 25A, Miller Place, 631-331-5454. $4 Coronas and margaritas.

May 4-5: Cinco de Mayo Weekend at The Nutty Irishman. 323 Main St. Farmingdale. 516-293-9700. $4 Coronas, 8-10 p.m.

Sunday
11 a.m.-2 p.m., Cinco de Mayo Festival at the Garden of Eve Organic Farm & Market. 4558 Sound Ave, Aquebogue, 631-523-6608

11 a.m.-2 p.m., Cinco de Mayo at the Long Island Game Farm Wildlife Park. 638 Chapman Blvd, Manorville, 631-878-6644. www.longislandgamefarm.com

12-2:30 p.m. or 3-5:30 p.m., Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Kid’s Fun Skate. United Skates of America, 1276 Hicksville Rd. Seaford, 516-795-5474.

2 p.m., Cinco de Mayo: Serenata Mexicana. The Suffolk Theater, 118 E. Main St. Riverhead, 631- 727-4343. $35.

2-3 p.m., Latin Music. Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages, 1200 Route 25A  Stony Brook, 631-751-0066

2-5 p.m., Mambo Loco at Martha Clara Vineyards. 6025 Sound Ave. Riverhead, 631-298-0075

3-8 p.m., Cinco de Mayo Party, Sandy survivor fundraiser, Knights of Columbus, 2333 Bellmore Ave., Bellmore, 516-785-9407. $40.

3-9 p.m., Cinco de Mayo at Pefecto Mundo Latin Bistro. 1141-1 Jericho Turnpike, Commack, 631-864-2777.

10 p.m.-12 a.m., Cinco de Mayo at Lily Flanagan’s Pub. 345 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, 631-539-0816

Cinco de Mayo Party at Dublin Deck. 325 River Ave, Patchogue, 631-207-0370.

Cinco de Moe’s at Moe’s Southwest Grill, multiple locations. Homewrecker burrito, chips and salsa for $5 and bobblehead Cinco de Moe’s collector’s cups.

Margaritas and Fajitas at Cozymel’s Mexican Grill, 1177 Corporate Dr., Westbury.11 a.m.-12 a.m.

Buy two tacos get one free at Chico’s Tex-Mex Restaurant, 18 Berryhill Rd., Syosset, 516-802-3500. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

$2 tacos, $5 nacho platters, $3 beers and $4 margaritas and sangrias at Swell Taco, 135 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, 631-482-1299. 12-4 p.m.

$5 margaritas, $3 beers, free giveaways, Don Juan’s, multiple locations.

-Compiled by Danny Mounce

David Hernandez, 17, was arrested Saturday and Geovany Hernandez, 20, was taken into custody Sunday. Both are facing charges of attempted murder and assault.

Police said the four suspects, all of whom are from Westbury, attacked the victims, ages 35, 34 and 23, in front of La Casa Del Marisco restaurant on Old Country Road in New Cassel in the early morning hours of Sunday,  March 31.

The victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries to the face, neck and hands.

Miguel Flores, 22, and Jose Hernandez, 25, were arrested hours later, police said. They were each ordered held on $100,000 bail after being charged with gang assault and other counts.

David and Geovany Hernandez were both additionally charged with possession of a dangerous weapon. They will be arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Hempstead.

The Centro America Taxi Company dispatched the 32-year-old man to pick up a fare on Upland Street near the corner of Rockland Street, where two men got in the cab and one pointed a silver handgun at the victim and demanded money shortly after 10 p.m., police said.

The victim grabbed the gun and a struggle ensued, but the gunman regained control of the gun and hit the victim in the head with it, police said.

Both robbers then went through the victim’s pockets, stole an undisclosed amount of cash and ran away southbound on Upland Street.

The victim was taken to an area hospital for treatment of a laceration and bleeding above his right eye.

Third Squad detectives request anyone with information regarding this robbery to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

Argentine Cardinal Pope Jorge Bergoglio was named Pope Francis I Wednesday March 13. He is seen waving to hundreds of thousands from he balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica. (Screen grab from Vatican website)

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio made history Wednesday when the Conclave of Cardinals named him the first pope from the Americas after only two days of voting.

But history will forever know the Buenos Aires Jesuit as Pope Francis I—another historic moment that one religious scholar said may signal a new era within the Catholic Church.

“I think the choice of the name Francis is really indicative of trying to set a tone right from the start, of humility, of rebuilding, of somewhat being outside the game of the Vatican to see things afresh, particularly with piety and with holiness,” said Professor Julie Byrne, the department chair of Catholic Studies at Hofstra University. “Those are the kinds of things that Francis is known for.”

Pope Francis I, 76, emerged from the balcony at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica to cheers from hundreds of thousands gathered outside in St. Peter’s Square, many shedding tears as the newly appointed leader of the Catholic Church waved to the masses. Children perched atop their parents’ shoulders and proud Argentineans waved their country’s flag in celebration.

One local Argentinean was just as ecstatic, saying she was overjoyed upon hearing the news of Pope Francis’ appointment and Latin American roots.

“How great that he comes from Argentina!” rejoiced Sherry Palencia, president of Argentine Tango Lovers of Long Island, a nonprofit that hosts weekly dances at Mirelle’s Restaurant and Catering in Westbury. “I think we need that South American perspective because we’re losing a lot of Catholics around the world.”

The 1.2 billion Catholics across the globe—and the rest of the world for that matter—have been focusing their attention on the Vatican since Pope Benedict XVI’s shocking resignation last month, citing his advancing age and health concerns. He was the first pope to walk away from the papacy in more than 600 years.

Thousands of spectators descended on the holy city in recent days to witness the rituals historically reserved for a pope’s death, yet in Benedict’s case, resignation. The excitement grew with each round of voting—three that featured black smoke—until white smoke finally billowed into the air Wednesday, signaling the new pope’s appointment.

Both politicians and religious leaders alike rejoiced in the special occasion.

Hundreds of thousands gather at St. Peter’s Square on the announcement that Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina has been named the next pope, choosing the name Francis. (Screen grab from Vatican website)

“On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I offer our warm wishes to His Holiness Pope Francis as he ascends to the Chair of Saint Peter and begins his papacy,” President Barack Obama said. “As a champion of the poor and the most vulnerable among us, he carries forth the message of love and compassion that has inspired the world for more than two thousand years—that in each other we see the face of God.

“As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day,” he continued. “We join with people around the world in offering our prayers for the Holy Father as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church in our modern world.”

Bishop William Murphy told reporters Wednesday at a hastily assembled news conference that the Roman Catholic Church Diocese of Rockville Centre joins “the universal Church in rejoicing in the selection of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.”

He described Pope Francis as a “very quiet scholarly man” who lives “civilly” and cooks his own meals.

“It’s a good sign, it seems to me, that there wasn’t a lot of division [regarding the expeditious selection process],” said Father Bill Walsh, spiritual director at St. Ignatius Jesuit Retreat House in Manhasset. “And it’s just a very happy occasion in general. One of his first requests will be for our prayers and support and he act according to the mind and heart of Christ.”

Bishop William Murphy talks to reporters about the new pope at Saint Agnes Cathedral Parish Center in Rockville Centre. (Photo: Long Island Press/Chris Mellides)

Francis’ appointment may be emblematic of the shift in the Catholic population over the years.

More than 40 percent of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America, according to the BBC, citing the World Christian Database. The two countries with the most Catholics by population are Italy and Brazil.

“I do think that is the kind of difference they were able to accommodate giving their diversity,” Byrne, of Hofstra, said of the Cardinals and their appointment of an Argentinean Pope. “There was a certain kind of diversity that they simply can’t display, like doctrinal diversity, but they could display diversity of the global population of Catholics.”

Despite the historical significance surrounding Francis’ selection, his ascension may not resolve some hot-button issues challenging the faith.

“His stated position on liberation theology and on all issues of sexual morality are highly orthodox, so [they're] basically the same as have been the official Vatican [position] to this point,” Byrne said.

Politics aside, Pope Francis’ appointment was simply a momentous occasion worth celebrating for many Catholics around the globe—and here on Long Island.

“We’ll be celebrating!” Palencia said of her group’s March 17 “Green Argentine Singles Dance,” which will feature world-famous champion performers from Argentina. “Oh my goodness, I’m so excited! This Sunday, we’ll be celebrating an Argentinean pope!

“This makes our Sunday even more special,” she added.

Mohammad Riaz, a 34-year-old Westbury resident and owner of Applied Construction Inc., pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Bronx court to money laundering, grand larceny, scheme to defraud and other charges.

Pleading not guilty to similar charges were 39-year-old Mohammad Arshad, his manager from Hicksville, and 58-year-old Zbigniew “Ziggy” Lakomiec, his foreman from Brooklyn.

“Contractors who work on affordable housing cannot ignore New York State’s labor laws,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who alleged the trio schemed to avoid prevailing wage laws by underpaying workers.

Applied Construction was required by law and their contract with the city to pay prevailing wages to workers on a taxpayer-funded affordable housing project on Kingsbridge Terrace in the Bronx between Nov. 9, 2011 and Aug. 30, 2012.

Instead, the trio allegedly paid the workers a fraction of the lawful rate and did not provide supplemental benefits, according to the attorney general. They allegedly tried to cover their tracks by excluding from payroll reports the workers they paid in cash. Some workers who were included on payroll were ordered to back kickbacks to the suspects, authorities said.

Judge Richard Lee Price set bail for Riaz and Arshad at $10,000. Lakomiec was released without bail. All three face up to 15 years in prison on the grand larceny charge.

Paul Hannwacker

A Plainview man has been accused of stealing more than $100,000 from his 85-year-old mother over a two-year period to pay for his drug addiction.

Nassau County police said officers found Paul Hannwacker intoxicated behind the wheel of a car stopped diagonally in the middle of the road at the corner of Rockaway Avenue at Old Country Road in Westbury shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday.

The 46-year-old man was found to be in possession of narcotics without a prescription and later told detectives that he had stolen from his mother to support his drug habit, police said.

Third Squad detectives found that Hannwacker stole a Target Visa card, jewelry and funds from his mother’s bank accounts, police said.

He was charged with grand larceny, forgery, identity theft, falsifying business driving while intoxicated, criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while ability impaired by drugs and traffic violations.

He will be arraigned Monday at First District Court in Hempstead.

Yunior Josue Bonilla

A Brentwood man has been arrested for drunken driving after he crashed his car on the Northern State Parkway in Huntington, killing a 26-year-old passenger early Monday morning, New York State police said.

Yunior Josue Bonilla, 25, was speeding home in his Mercedes CLK 430 with three passengers after leaving a night club in Westbury when the crash occurred at 4:17 a.m.

The victim, Gabriel Herrera-Mina, also of Brentwood, was taken to Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The victim was not wearing his seat belt, police noted.

Witnesses told investigators that Bonilla had been seen drinking at the night club prior to driving the car, police said.

The eastbound lanes of the parkway were closed for over six hours while investigators were on the scene.

Bonilla will be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip on charges of driving while intoxicated, driving without a license and traffic violations. Other charges are pending further investigation, police said.

Anyone who may have witnessed this accident is urged to contact the New York State Police at 631 756-3300 or 631 231-6389. All calls will be confidential.

President Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address of his second term Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013.

President Barack Obama laid out more than a dozen new initiatives Tuesday in the first State of the Union address of his second term, packing an array of issues into the hour-long speech, including four—climate change, immigration, veterans and gun control—of particular importantance to Long Islanders, a few of whom were in the audience.

Obama started off flat while discussing his budget and tax reform proposals, but he worked his way up to an emotional plea for Congress to enact new restrictions on firearms sales to reduce the number of gun deaths nationwide. He sounded encouraged by current immigration reform talks among lawmakers, but the president oscilated between urging the Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to negotiate a compromise on the upcoming deficit reduction plan known as sequestration, and threatening to use executive orders if Congress doesn’t act on global warming.

“We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen, were all just a freak coincidence,” Obama said, referring in part to the Oct. 29 hurricane-nor’easter hybrid that ravaged LI and the Northeast. ”Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science—and act before it’s too late.”

The president remained vague on most of his proposals, choosing to paint a broad picture of the goals he’s setting for the year to come, but did get into some specifics while discussing immigration and, to a lesser degree, gun control.

“Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals,” the president said, before rallying for a vote on the bill. ”Police chiefs are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition magazines off our streets, because these police chiefs, they’re tired of seeing their guys and gals being outgunned.”

Among those top cops was John Aresta, the Malverne village police chief, whose uncle was among six murdered in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre. He was invited to attend by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), whose husband was killed and son injured in the same shooting spree that launched her to the national stage to advocate for gun control.

“I personally don’t see a reason why anybody would need a 30-round clip or a 10-round clip for an assault rifle,” Aresta had told Fox Business News  last month shortly after New York State passed sweeping new gun control laws in the wake of the Newtown elementary school massacre in December.

Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), the lone Republican among LI’s five-member Congressional delegation, wrote on Twitter that he was disapointed in Obama’s lack of focus on unemployment and deficit reduction, but co-authored an op-ed in Politico expressing support for ensuring background checks for all  gun purchases, with the exception of gifts between family members or temporary transfers for hunters. He noted national estimates that only four in 10 gun buyers are subject to such checks.

New York City got two mentions. Obama first touted the heroic nurses who evacuated newborn babies from the NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan during Sandy, signaling Menchu Sanchez by name. She was seated next to First Lady Michelle Obama. He later extolled the benefits of P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York Public Schools, the City University of New York and IBM, where students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in computers or engineering—a model he wants emulated nationwide.

The emphasis on improving education to better the economy dovetailed with his reasons for supporting immigration, a hotly debated issue on LI, where undocumented Hispanic immigrant day laborers have repeatedly been victims of Suffolk County hate crimes in recent years.

“Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants,” Obama said, emphasizing that reform must include stronger border security, cutting waiting periods, attracting highly skilled engineers and ”establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship—a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and … learning English.”

But some immigration issues are easier to solve than others. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) invited as his guests Dania and Nick Marvos, a Little Neck couple who were in the process of adopting a 1-year-old boy named Ari from Russia until two months ago when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning American adoptions of Russian children. The move was widely seen as retaliation for a recently passed U.S. law punishing Russian human rights violators.

“Waiting for news to see if we will be allowed to bring our baby home has been one of the most trying times in our lives,” Dania Mavros said in a statement released by Israel’s office. ”Devastating does not capture the emotional roller coaster that we are enduring every day.”

Congressman Israel said he is negotiating to help the couple complete the adoption process despite the new Russian law in an attempt to save their son-to-be from growing up in an orphanage. Thousands of other cases are also in jeopardy.

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) invited Dina McKenna of Lindenhurst, whose husband, Sgt. William McKenna, died in 2010 of cancer caused by his exposure to toxic fumes from burn pits the military used for disposing of hazardous waste in Iraq. Bishop had laws passed to curtail the use of burn pits and require the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve its treatment of soldiers exposed to them.

“All veterans whose health may have been affected by toxic burn pits must be accounted for and given the health care and support they have earned,” Bishop said in a statement.

Obama’s nod to veterans came as he promised to better defend against cyber attacks, end the more than decade-long war in Afghanistan “by the end of next year,” prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons and isolate North Korea for its provocations in testing nuclear weapons potentially capable of being fitted on inter-continental ballistic missles. He reiterated plans to strengthen U.S. missle defense to block such an attack.

The commander-in-chief also made clear that while the military will not be sending large numbers of troops abroad for Iraq-style occupations, he vaguely referred to special operations forces that will continue to hunt al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and wherever else they may be hiding. He made veiled reference to the continued deployment of predator drones despite recently renewed controversy over their use to kill American citizens working with terrorists, such as Westbury-native Samir Khan, the al-Qaeda propagandist killed in U.S. airstrikes alongside militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in 2011.

“Where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans,” he said.