Celebrating Cinco de Mayo, A.K.A. El Día de la Batalla de Puebla
I re-share this every year for Cinco de Mayo, since it seems relevant every year.
Today is May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, which will be celebrated throughout the country as some sort of universal Latino holiday. The revelry is held throughout the US, with many embracing the mistaken thought that they are celebrating Mexican Independence Day. There are parties and festivals and awards and happy hours and special dishes and discounts … and so much more.
I don’t discount the significance of having a Latinx holiday celebrated on a national level in the US. I’m glad we have something more than Hispanic Heritage Month, the barely-known Día de los Niños, and the inreasongly-popular Día de los Muertos. Even though no one seems to make it past the drinking games and parties, Cinco de Mayo is significant.
A brief history of the history of Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (according to my history class and Wikipedia). The Mexican army was comprised of 4,000 Mexican soldiers and they were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army by nearly double; it’s important to note that the French army had not been defeated for almost 50 years.
And, by the way, since this battle, no European force has invaded a country on the American continent.
Toast to that today.
This year I’m also including a PBS Kids video I found that seems to do a good job explaining the history behind the holiday.
UPDATED; ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED May 5, 2015.
Sandra Fernandez is a professional communicator, tech enthusiast, book lover, and blogger. You can find her main blog at SandraSays.com and more of her writing at HispanicHouston.com.