Mexican Dessert Recipes
Sign Up for the Recipe Publishing Newsletter
A Brief Cinco de Mayo History
One of the first facts about Cinco de Mayo history to get out of the way in any article on the holiday is that this is not a celebration of Mexico's independence from Spain. This is an extremely common misconception, which persists to this day. As it happens, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810 - more than fifty years before the events of May 5th, 1862, which Cinco de Mayo commemorates.
As you may be aware, Cinco de Mayo literally means "Fifth of May" in Spanish and this holiday is a celebration of this historic victory of a Mexican force under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza over a French force which outnumbered them nearly two to one. The conflict, known as the Maximilian Affair or the Franco-Mexican War was precipitated by Mexico's decision to delay paying interest on foreign debts while the young nation got onto its feet.
This was quickly followed by the arrival of British, French troops in Mexico; the Mexican government and the British came to an agreement, and the British forces quickly left for home. The French however had ideas other than settling the terms of repayment - Napoleon III had conquest in mind and Prince Maximilian was sent along with the French soldiers to become the ruler of Mexico.
The French had one of the best-equipped, most professional armies in Europe and their confidence would have been well placed had it not been for the fierce resistance shown by the Mexican army. The Battle of Puebla was not the last battle of this war, but it was in many ways a turning point - and this startling upset victory over such overwhelming odds inspired Mexico to continue fighting and eventually expel the French, as any student of Cinco de Mayo history knows.
Celebrations of the victory began being celebrated annually after the conclusion of the Franco-Mexican war, both in Mexico and in California, where the world's largest Cinco de Mayo parade is held now. In the 1960s, college students in California brought Cinco de Mayo into the spotlight nationally, urging Americans to adopt the holiday as a celebration of Latino (and especially Mexican-American) contributions to America. Let it never be said that Americans do not love a party; the holiday quickly caught on and it is now celebrated much more widely in the US than it is in Mexico, where it is largely a regional celebration.
We celebrate Cinco de Mayo and honor Cinco de Mayo history in the US in a variety of ways. We hold parades, musical and dance performance events, festivals which celebrate Mexican culture - and of course, this is a day where we all enjoy Mexican food and drink. This May 5th, remember to raise a glass to General Zaragoza and have a wonderful time with family and friends.
