Thursday, May 5, 2016

Why DO we celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

By now, hopefully, most Americans know that the 16th of September and NOT May 5th is Mexican Independence Day. So what exactly happened on this day and why do we celebrate in the United States? Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the outnumbered and outgunned Mexican army over the French Imperial Army at the Battle of Puebla. Emperor Napoleon III of France (not THE Napoleon) needed a military victory to quell discontent at home, so when the administration of Benito Juárez suspended European debt payments France (along with Spain and Britain) invaded. The Mexican contingency was led by Ignacio Zaragoza, born in what was then Mexican-ruled Goliad, Texas. News of the battle and the role of Zaragoza, "the native son," arrived in Texas as early as 1867 when performers like Onofre Cárdenas from San Ignacio, Texas, sang ballads about both. It was not until the Chicano movement of the 1960s that Cinco de Mayo became widely celebrated in the United States, however. Although the day is technically about the Battle of Puebla, it became a day to celebrate Mexican-American identity. Oh, and the Battle of Puebla only temporarily stopped the French invasion. The French eventually occupied Mexico for three years and installed an Austrian Archduke as Emperor Maximilian of Mexico...and now you know the gist.  



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