Cinco de Mayo Wikipedia. Cinco de Mayo pronounced siko e mao Spanish for Fifth of May is an annual celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Armys unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1. General Ignacio Zaragoza. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico. In the U. S. the date has become associated with the celebration of Mexican American culture. In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken for Mexicos Independence Daythe most important national holiday in Mexicowhich is celebrated on September 1. Cry of Dolores that initiated the war of Mexican independence from Spain. Background. Join Old Towns top bars restaurants in celebrating Cinco de Mayo with lots of drink food specials, live entertainment and festivities. Fiesta Vendors. From Food to Handcrafted items, theres something for everyone at the Wells Fargo Cinco de Mayo FiestaMay 5, 1. Puebla, a 1. Biblioteca del Nio Mexicano, a series of booklets for children detailing the history of Mexico. Events leading to the Battle of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo has its roots in the French occupation of Mexico, which took place in the aftermath of the MexicanAmerican War of 1. Reform War. The Reform War was a civil war which pitted Liberals who believed in separation of church and state, and freedom of religion against the Conservatives who favored a tight bond between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State. These wars nearly bankrupted the Mexican Treasury. On July 1. 7, 1. 86. Mexican President Benito Jurez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years. In response, Britain, France, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, at the time ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish an empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican Empire. The empire was part of an envisioned Latin America term used to imply cultural kinship of the region with France that would rebuild French influence in the American continent and exclude Anglophone American territories. French invasion. Late in 1. French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Jurez and his government into retreat. Moving on from Veracruz towards Mexico City, the French army encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans close to Puebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. The 6,0. 00 strong1. French army1. 3note 1 attacked the much smaller1. Mexican army of 4,0. Yet, on May 5, 1. Mexicans managed to decisively crush the French army, then considered the premier army in the world. Mexican victory. The victory represented a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large. In the description of The History Channel, Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Zaragozas success at Puebla represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement. As Time magazine remarked, The Puebla victory came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath. It helped establish a much needed sense of national unity and patriotism. Events after the battle. The Mexican victory, however, was short lived. A year later, with 3. French were able to defeat the Mexican army, capture Mexico City, and install Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico. The French victory was itself short lived, lasting only three years, from 1. By 1. 86. 5, with the American Civil War now over, the U. S. began to provide more political and military assistance to Mexico to expel the French. Upon the conclusion of the American Civil War, Napoleon III, facing a persistent Mexican guerilla resistance, the threat of war with Prussia, and the prospect of a serious scrap with the United States, retreated from Mexico starting in 1. The Mexicans recaptured Mexico City, and Maximilian I was apprehended and executed, along with his Mexican generals Miguel Miramn and Toms Meja Camacho in Cerro de las Campanas, Quertaro. On June 5, 1. 86. Benito Juarez finally entered Mexico City where he installed a new government and reorganized his administration. Sicilian Peppers. Significance. The Battle of Puebla was important for at least two reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better equipped French army. This battle was significant in that the 4,0. Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well equipped French army of 8,0. Second, since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas has subsequently been invaded by any other European military force. Consequences to the United States. Historian Justo Sierra has written in his Political Evolution of the Mexican People that, had Mexico not defeated the French in Puebla on May 5, 1. France would have gone to the aid of the Confederacy in the U. S. Civil War and the United States destiny would have been different. History of the holiday. United States. According to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in California in the 1. French rule in Mexico. Far up in the gold country town of Columbia now Columbia State Park Mexican miners were so overjoyed at the news that they spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches. A 2. 00. 7 UCLA Newsroom article notes that, the holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1. Mexico. 3. 0TIME magazine reports that Cinco de Mayo started to come into vogue in 1. America during the rise of the Chicano Movement. The holiday crossed over from California into the rest of the United States in the 1. It grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican American populations, like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and San Jose. In a 1. 99. 8 study in the Journal of American Culture it was reported that there were more than 1. US celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in 2. An update in 2. 00. Cinco de Mayo events was 1. Jos Alamillo, a professor of ethnic studies at Washington State University in Pullman, who has studied the cultural impact of Cinco de Mayo north of the border. Los Angeles Fiesta Broadway has been billed as the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, which it most certainly was at its peak in the 1. In recent years attendance has seen a dramatic decrease. On June 7, 2. 00. United States Congress issued a concurrent resolution calling on the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo with appropriate ceremonies and activities. To celebrate, many display Cinco de Mayo banners while school districts hold special events to educate students about its historical significance. Special events and celebrations highlight Mexican culture, especially in its music and regional dancing. Examples include baile folklrico and mariachi demonstrations held annually at the Plaza del Pueblo de Los ngeles, near Olvera Street. Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and services, with an emphasis on alcoholic beverages,3. Mexico. The former Forts of Guadalupe and Loreto now house a museum. On May 9, 1. 86. 2, President Jurez declared that the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla would be a national holiday regarded as Battle of Puebla Day or Battle of Cinco de Mayo. Today, the commemoration of the battle is not observed as a national holiday in Mexico i. However, all public schools are closed nationwide in Mexico on May 5.