For sure, it's one of the more obscure and underrated holidays on the American docket. No one gets a mandated day off; mail is delivered on this day; all parking rules are enforced; big-box stores and other retail outlets don't stage humungous sales to celebrate the yearly event.

Nevertheless, February 22 is National Margarita Day, and few would argue that paying homage to this tequila-driven drink, one of the most popular cocktails in the United States and Mexico (and the world, probably), is certainly warranted.

Virtually anyone in San Diego who has been known to imbibe in adult beverages has had a margarita or two in his or her lifetime, especially with Mexican influences afoot at every turn.

Recent estimates peg margaritas accounting for one-fifth of all mixed drink sales in this country, helping explain why the U.S. is the top tequila consumer in the world. For the uninitiated, the margarita consists of tequila mixed with orange liqueur (Triple Sec) and lime or lemon juice, with salt rung around the rim of the glass. The drink can be blended or served on the rocks.

While this is considered the traditional or basic margarita in most bars and restaurants, using extra ingredients such as strawberries, melon, peach and other fruits generally results in a drink that truly hits the spot.

Then again, some establishments have tossed in ingredients so esoteric, so off-base and so downright weird that the drink has virtually ceased being a margarita, despite the presence of tequila and Triple Sec in the glass. This is akin to playing a baseball game where six balls constitute a walk or having tofu or smoked salmon on what is allegedly a pizza.

According to the International Bartenders Association, the standard margarita consists of 50 percent tequila, 29 percent Cointreau and 21 percent fresh lime or lemon juice. The IBA's standards are used in the yearly World Cocktail Competition.

The history of the margarita is shrouded in numerous tales and unverifiable notions. Robb Walsh, author of the Tex Mex Cookbook, once wrote, "The margarita is a success with a few thousand fathers.'' Loosely translated, that means no one is really sure who created it or when or where it was done.

One popular theory is the drink was first served to a San Antonio socialite, Mrs. William (Margarita) Sames, in 1948, in Acapulco. Another tale says the margarita was first cooked up at Hussong's Cantina, October 1941, in Ensenada. Bartender Don Carlos Orozco is said to have been fooling around with new cocktail mixtures during a slow day, when a woman named Margarita Henkel showed up. Henkel, the daughter of a German ambassador, lived with her husband in Rancho Hamilton, near Ensenada. Trying to impress the dignitary, he offered her the drink, containing the now legendary ingredientsand named it after Henkel for being the first person to consume the concoction.

And then there's this one: At the Rancho La Gloria Hotel (between Tijuana and Rosarito) bartender Carlos "Danny" Herrera served what became a margarita to former Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King. This ostensibly took place in the mid-late 1930s, likely because Margarita in Spanish was "Little Margie," loosely translated. But we're not done yet.

Yet another claim has bartender Santos Cruz making the drink for singer Peggy Lee (pf "Is That All There Is" fame), naming it for the Spanish version of Lee's first name, Margarita. This is said to have occurred at the Balinese Room in the Gulf city of Galveston, TX.

Still another dispatch has the birth of the margarita going back to Tijuana's Agua Caliente race track in the 1930s and Bertita's bar in Tasca, Mexico, not to mention Matamoros, where some "mixologist" named Willie may or may not have been the drink's creator.

On the San Diego side of the border, the margarita started gaining popularity circa 1947, at the La Plaza restaurant in La Jolla, and the phenomenon has never stopped.

At the end of the day, no one really cares who invented the margarita or where it happens. Its status as one of the classic cocktails on the planet is more than enough for any consumer.

Of course, there are more establishments to find margaritas in the San Diego area than a thousand math geniuses could count. Incredibly, the number of joints acknowledging Margarita Day are scant; in fact, phone calls revealed a lot of bars and restaurants have never even heard of this blessed day.

One exception is Chevy's in Del Mar, 2730 Via Del Valle. Now the only representative of this much-maligned chain following the closing of the Mission Valley location, this spot is offering an all-day Margarita Day celebration in its cantina. Chevy's classic and specialty margaritas will be featured, and a three-course meal will be offered for $20.22, in honor of the day.

Café Coyotein Old Town will be celebrating all day with 20 different Margarita Flavors available for just $5 dollars. 2461 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110

Meanwhile, acclaimed establishments such as Indigo Grill (Blueberry Pomegranate) , El Dorado (El Pepino), URBN (Margarita Primavera, with egg white, believe it or not) and C-Level (Jalapeno Margarita) are some of the many places to bring in Margarita Day, even if the joint isn't making it an official celebration.