5 Things To Know About Cinco De Mayo, A Minor Holiday In Mexico

ACROSS AMERICA — Cinco de Mayo celebrations in hundreds of cities this weekend are a nod to Mexican culture and heritage but at the same time distinctly American.

Only one of Mexico’s 31 states — Puebla — celebrates the May 5 holiday to any degree, but in the United States it has become a boozy holiday marked by parades, mariachi music, and traditional Mexican dances and foods.

“It’s very similar to how Irish-Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day,” Jody Agius Vallejo, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California, told The Associated Press in 2012. “One way they can honor their ethnicity is to celebrate this day, even when most don’t know why,” Here are five things to know about Cinco de Mayo:

What Does Cinco De Mayo Celebrate?

Cinco de Mayo observes the date of the Battle of Puebla in 1862, when the outnumbered Mexican army defeated Napoleon III’s powerful French troops, who were occupying the area seeking unpaid debts.

A common misconception confuses the holiday with Mexican Independence Day, or El Día de la Independencia, which is Sept. 16.

The country had already gained its independence from Spain years before the battle of Puebla, which was part of a war the Mexican army historians consider lost to the French.

The U.S. Popularized The Holiday

While a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become an important celebration of Mexican heritage and culture in the United States, especially in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Some of the largest Cinco de Mayo festivals are held in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

The holiday was popularized as a U.S. celebration by Latinos in California and the Pacific Northwest who, upon learning of the Battle of Puebla, formed organizations that raised money for Mexican troops.

Cinco De Mayo And The American Civil War

The origins of Cinco de Mayo are also tied closely to the American Civil War. The Associated Press reported that according to Spanish language newspapers of the era, multinational Latinos living in the United States identified with the Union Army’s fight against the Confederacy and often opined on the evils of slavery.

When the Battle of Puebla took place, the Confederacy had gained momentum with a string of victories. Some historians believe the French made war with Mexico, bankrupt after decades of internal conflict, not because it suspended payments to European creditors, but to gain a base to support the Confederacy in its battle against the Union.

The Battle of Puebla was a setback for the French, whose pause in fighting gave the Union army time to strengthen and gain momentum. Some historians believe that if the French hadn’t been stopped at Puebla and had joined forces with the Confederates, an oligarchical, slave-holding government could have controlled the continent from the Mason Dixon line to Guatemala.

Resurgence In the 1970s

The Chicano Movement of the 1970s raised the profile of Cinco de Mayo, using the David vs. Goliath storyline of more than 100 years prior as emblematic of the struggles of Mexican Americans in the Southwest.

The Chicano civil rights movement took on issues of racism, increasing cultural hegemony, and equality in labor and politics, sparking national conversations on the political and social autonomy of Hispanic groups nationwide.

What Does Booze Have To Do With It?

Cinco de Mayo as many Americans today know it is a drinking day to knock back a few tequila shots. That late 20th century wrinkle unfolded as Cinco de Mayo celebrations spread in support of the Chicano Movement and liquor companies such as Miller and Anheuser-Busch saw a marketing opportunity with sponsorships.

The movement needed cash to put on the event, which the beer companies were eager to provide to connect with a growing Latino population with marketing campaigns nicknaming the holiday as “Drinko de Mayo” or “Corona de Mayo.”

The campaigns were met with criticism by some Latino activists, who said they trivialized the sacrifices of Mexicans who fought in the Battle of Puebla and denigrated the holiday’s historical significance.