Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo has been celebrated for years, but most people do not know the roots or the actual significance of this day. Many people have learned and believed that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day. However, those people have been misinformed. Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day. September 16 is actually Mexico's Independence Day (Grito de Delores), but there are plenty of Americans who do not know that. In fact, Cinco de Mayo is not even recognized as a national holiday in Mexico. So what is the significance of Cinco de Mayo?

The significance of Cinco de Mayo dates back to the 1862 during the Franco-Mexican War. The Mexican Army was severely outnumbered by the French, but that did not stop them from trying to protect their land. On May 5, 1862 the Mexican Army defended Puebla Mexico, so Cinco de Mayo commemorates the triumph of the Mexican Army's victory. Cinco de Mayo does not mark Mexico's Independence Day, but rather commemorates Mexico's resistance to French imperialism.

At the time, the French Army was a superpower, so Mexico's victory was extremely unlikely. The French Army had not been defeated in decades and Mexico did not seem to have a chance. However, Mexico did hold off the French in Puebla and that victory is still celebrated annually to this day.

Many Mexican immigrants claim that Cinco de Mayo is more celebrated in the United States than in Mexico. The only place in Mexico that celebrates Cinco de Mayo is Puebla; however the day is still recognized throughout Mexico. So why do we celebrate this seemingly insignificant date to us in the United States?

The outcome of the Battle of Puebla could have potentially influenced the outcome of the American Civil War. The Confederates were expanding west, claiming New Mexico and Arizona and they were heading to California. So what does this have to do with the war in Mexico? Well the French sided with the Confederates in the American Civil War, so Latinos in the United States were fighting a war on two fronts. Some Latinos went back down to Mexico to help fight off the French in Puebla. So had the Battle of Puebla been won by the French, there very well may be a chance that the Confederates could have won the Civil War.

This is why Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Next time someone tells you that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day, please educate them on what really happened and why we celebrate by eating tacos and drinking margaritas.