I’m definitely one that thought the 5th of May was Mexico’s independence day, but with a little research I found out it commemorates the historical event known as Battle of Puebla fought between Mexico and France on May 5th, 1862.
Mexico had borrowed a lot of money from Spain, England and France and Mexico was able to reach an agreement with Spain and England, however not with France. Therefore France set out to attack Mexico in Puebla a town just 70 miles from Mexico City. The French Army’s intention was to overthrow the then president Benito Juarez.
Things didn’t go as planned for the French because even though they had a much bigger army than the Mexican’s, under the leadership of Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexico managed to successfully win. Four days later President Juarez declared the Cinco de Mayo a national holiday.
In 1864 France took control of Mexico but it spurred resistance forces to gain an alliance with the Americans to successfully drive Napoleon’s forces away. Since it is believed the French would have aided the Confederacy at the Civil War, Mexico’s resistance likely changed the history of USA.
Pro-Union Mexican citizens living in California celebrated the victory and annually spread the annual celebrations all across California, and Mexican-American’s all around. Now Cinco de Mayo is celebrated world-wide.
Want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo:
Make easy Cinco de Mayo recipes for dinner tonight
Have a virtual house party by
Decorating with traditional Mexican paper flowers
Email family and friends special recipes they should try out
Play Mexican music throughout the day
Spend time with the kids enjoying these Cinco de Mayo activities
Feliz Cinco de Mayo everyone and live life well always!
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