Cinco De Mustache
The tradition started in the fall of 2003, thanks to Multnomah alumnus and former RA Devin Chapman. Every November 5th, the men of Multnomah Bible College celebrate the sacred holiday “Cinco De Mustache.” Ok, it’s not really sacred, but Cinco De Mustache does take more preparation than most holidays. During the month of October, men of Multnomah abstain from shaving to allow the maximum amount of facial hair to grow…
…raw material that lays an important foundation for a truly impressive mustache.
The Shaving Party
On the night before November 5th, they hold a “shaving party” where they trim away excess facial hair in order to sculpt the perfect ’stache.
It is customary, after forming their mustaches, to sing the Cinco De Mustache song outside the women’s dorm:
Aye, yai, yai, yai
Cinco De Mustache
The men who are hip
They wear hair on their lip
They don’t use a razor
They don’t give a rip
It grows and grows and grows
So let your mustache show
Aye, yai, yai, yai
Cinco De Mustache (2x)
The Big Day
On Cinco De Mustache, participants (and some faculty) all sit together in the JCA for the “Gentleman’s Lunch,” raise their glasses for the “Milk Mustache Toast,” and sing the Cinco De Mustache theme song again. This usually brings a lot of laughs (and strange looks) from the ladies, staff, and faculty. The guys don’t mind, though, because a mustache is something to be proud of.
Special Thanks to student Kaitlin Handley (who hopes to scrub this from her memory soon) for the above vid!
And another version from a cell phone on Multnomah’s YouTube Channel:
Paying Homage
They even pay homage to faculty member Ray Lubeck, who has become an icon (maybe even a mascot) of sorts, due to his own impressive mustache. He’s a real-life example of mustache longevity.
In other facial hair news…coincidence?
It seems this time of year is the best time to think about facial hair. It is a little-known fact that November is National Beard Month, where men across the nation are encouraged to prepare for the cold, winter weather by growing a beard. In fact, just as I was preparing for this post on Monday, I discovered another blog that decided to pay tribute to the “20 manliest mustaches and beards in facial hair history.”
Inspired
Cinco De Mustache, National Beard Month, and the above mentioned tribute to facial hair got us feeling nostalgic. In keeping with tradition, we’re preparing a couple of special followup posts in the same vein. As always, stay tuned… you won’t want to miss this!
Cheers!
Link to:
part two | part three
Tags: campus life, cinco de mustache, Students, tradition
November 5th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Wow…some traditions just never change.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I once overheard a girl say: “More like ‘Single De Mustache’!”
Harsh.
November 5th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I hear the ladies have started a tradition of wearing all black on Nov. 5, in mourning for the state of all the men. Then, on Nov. 6, they all dress up for the newly shorn men.
(…not sure ’shorn’ is the right word there… or maybe it is…)
Back in my day…
November 5th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
We should change the slogan to: “If it’s moustache you want, you want Multnomah.”
November 5th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I LOVE Cinco De Mustache, no matter what anyone says…
Very manly, hairy and fun. Also, I love that Roger participates…
November 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I actually miss Cinco De Mustache!… yes guys, some girls like the strange traditions. specially after they part from Multnomah….
November 5th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
If anyone’s keeping track, this is the 6th annual cinco de mustache. Unfortunately, last year we didn’t realize that it was the 5th cinco de mustache, which something special should have happened, but alas.
I apologize to those who wanted to see me with just a mustache, but I just love my beard too much… It keeps me warm, especially with the short hair on top of my head.
Cheers,
Dan
November 6th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I remember sitting in South with Devin Chapmen, Jake Nuckolls, and Cole Vineyard dreaming of what it would be like if all the men at Multnomah had mustaches on one day! Ahhh good memories, good traditions! Thanks for keeping the dream alive!
November 6th, 2008 at 10:18 am
correction it was actually North…My memory is fading with age!
November 6th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Hmmm…in honor of our new Multnomah University moniker, we should’ve named it Cinco de MU-stache, eh?
Aye, yai, yai, yai!
November 6th, 2009 at 9:51 am
[...] The History [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
[...] this final of 3 installments that began with (1) Cinco De Mustache, and continued with (2) Great Mustaches of Multnomah Past, you’ll be treated to some of [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
[...] University Blog « Cinco De Mustache Discussing Black Liberation Theology [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
[...] The History [...]
November 7th, 2009 at 11:31 am
So, so, so, so beautiful.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:40 am
I will forever be the woman who married the guy who started Cinco de Mustache and I’m okay with that.