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Cinco de Mayo

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Cinco de Mayo
Battle of Puebla
Observed byMexicans, mixed nationality
TypeMultinational
SignificanceCelebration of the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862
CelebrationsParades, food, music, folkloric dancing
DateMay 5
Next time5 May 2025 (2025-05-05)
Frequencyannual
Related toEl Día de la Batalla de Puebla

Cinco de Mayo (pronounced [ˈsiŋko ðe ˈmaʝo]; Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza.[1][2]

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico.[3][4][5][6] 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 to be Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16.[1][7]

Background

1901 poster for Cinco de Mayo: "May 5, 1862 and the siege of Puebla"

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 Mexican–American War of 1846–48 and the 1858–61 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).[8] These wars left the Mexican Treasury nearly bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years.[3][9] In response, France, Britain, 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 a Latin empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican Empire.

French invasion

Main article: Battle of Puebla

Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.[10] 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.[11] The 6,000-strong[12] French army[13][note 1] attacked the much smaller[14] and poorly equipped Mexican army of 2,000.[15][note 2] Yet, on May 5, 1862,[16] the Mexicans managed to decisively crush the French army, then considered "the premier army in the world".[17][18][19]

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, Zaragoza's success at Puebla represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement."[20] As Time magazine remarked, "The Puebla victory came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath."[21] It helped establish a much-needed sense of national unity and patriotism.[22]

Events after the battle

The Mexican victory, however, was short-lived. A year later, with 30,000 troops, the French were able to defeat the Mexican army, capture Mexico City, and install Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico.[23] The French victory was itself short-lived, lasting only three years, from 1864 to 1867.[23] By 1865, "with the American Civil War now over, the U.S. began to provide more political and military assistance to Mexico to expel the French".[23] 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 1866.[24] The Mexicans recaptured Mexico City, and Maximilian I was apprehended and executed, along with his Mexican generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía Camacho in Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro.[9][23] "On June 5, 1867, Benito Juarez finally entered Mexico City where he installed a legitimate government and reorganized his administration."[9]

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 4,000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army of 8,000 that had not been defeated for almost 50 years." [25][26] [note 3] Second, since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas has subsequently been invaded by any other European military force.[27][note 4]

Consequences to the United States

Further information: France and the American Civil War
Cinco de Mayo dancers greeted by U.S. President George W. Bush

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, 1862, 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.[28][29]

History of the holiday

United States

Cinco de Mayo performers at the White House

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 1860s in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico.[30] "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." [31]

A 2007 UCLA Newsroom article notes that, "the holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico."[30] TIME magazine reports that "Cinco de Mayo started to come into vogue in 1940s America during the rise of the Chicano Movement."[21] The holiday crossed over from California into the rest of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s but did not gain popularity until the 1980s when marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it.[32][33] 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.[34]

In a 1998 study in the Journal of American Culture it was reported that there were more than 120 official US celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in 21 different states. An update in 2006 found that the number of official Cinco de Mayo events was 150 or more, according to José 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.[35]

Cinco de Mayo celebration in Saint Paul, Minnesota

On June 7, 2005, the 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.[2] 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 folklórico and mariachi demonstrations held annually at the Plaza del Pueblo de Los Ángeles, 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,[36][37] foods, and music.[38][39]

Mexico

On May 9, 1862, President Juárez 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".[40][41][42][43][44]

Today, the commemoration of the battle is not observed as a national holiday in Mexico (i.e. not a statutory holiday).[45] However, all public schools are closed nationwide in Mexico on May 5.[46][47] The day is an official holiday in the State of Puebla, where the Battle took place, and also a full holiday (no work) in the neighboring State of Veracruz.[48][49]

Elsewhere

Events tied to Cinco de Mayo also occur outside Mexico and the United States. As in the United States, celebrations elsewhere also emphasize Mexican cuisine, culture and music. For example, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, holds an American-style "Cinco de Mayo Street Festival",[50] some Canadian pubs play Mexican music and serve Mexican food and drink,[51] and a sky-diving club near Vancouver holds a Cinco de Mayo skydiving event.[52] In the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean, there is an annual Cinco de Mayo air guitar competition.[53] and at Montego Bay, Jamaica, there is a Cinco de Mayo celebration.[54] The city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, holds an annual Mexican Festival[55] to honor the day, and celebrations are held in London[56] and New Zealand.[57] American-style celebrations of the day can also be found in Paris,[58] Capetown, South Africa,[59] and Lagos, Nigeria.[60] Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Japan in Osaka and in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park Event Space as a celebration of Latin American culture.[61][62][63]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Other sources give the size of the French force as 6,500. Template:External link
  2. ^ According to Mexico's National Institute of Historical Studies on the Mexican Revolution the Mexican force consisted of 4,802 soldiers.Template:External link And Peter Hicks of the French Fondation Napoléon and other French sources state the size of the Mexican force was 12,000 men. Template:External link and Template:External link. Hayes-Batista clarifies on page 60 of his El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition that after the smaller Mexican force had defeated the French on May 5, they received reinforcements on May 6 and 7 to the tune of 12,000 additional Mexican soldiers.
  3. ^ It has been pointed out that, contrary to reports on PBS and in Philadelphia's The Bulletin, the French were in fact considered to have been defeated by the Russians at the Siege of Petropavlovsk in 1854.
  4. ^ The statement in The Bulletin is, "This was the last time any army from another continent invaded the Americas."[25] Note it says "invaded", and not "attacked." Thus, since Cinco de Mayo no army from another continent has invaded the Americas. The War of the Falklands War, for example, was fought in the Americas but the Islands were invaded by a military from the Americas (the Argentine military). They were subsequently attacked (not invaded) by the UK. Another example, Pearl Harbor, experienced an attack, not an invasion by the Japanese. The only possible exception to the Cinco de Mayo claim above might be the brief occupation/invasion of two of the Alaskan Aleutian Islands by the Japanese military during WWII. This event, however, was so insignificant as to be virtually negligible: the islands invaded had a total population of 12 Americans and some 45 natives, the invasion was short-lived, and the battle fought there had no notoriety other than the psychological effect on the Americans that the Japanese had invaded American territory again (Alaska was not yet a full-fledged state). In short, the military importance of these small pieces of land was nowhere comparable to the superior military significance of the Battle of Puebla.

Citations

  1. ^ a b Lovgren, Stefan (May 5, 2006). "Cinco de Mayo, From Mexican Fiesta to Popular U.S. Holiday". National Geographic News.
  2. ^ a b Library of Congress (U.S.A.) Declaration. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Cinco de Mayo". University of California at Los Angeles. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  4. ^ "Cinco de Mayo celebrations run all weekend". Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  5. ^ "Cinco de Mayo has become a day for celebrating Mexican culture in the United States, and celebrations there easily outshine those in Mexico". About.com. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
  6. ^ Krogstad, Jens (May 5, 2003). "University community celebrates Cinco de Mayo". The Minnesota Daily. University of Minnesota. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2016. Today, the holiday is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Lauren Effron (May 5, 2010). "Cinco de Mayo: NOT Mexico's Independence Day". Discovery Channel. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  8. ^ Minster, Christopher (December 16, 2013). "Cinco De Mayo/The Battle of Puebla". About.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Herz, May. "Cinco de Mayo". Inside Mexico. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  10. ^ "Cinco de Mayo". History.com. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  11. ^ "Cinco de Mayo". Mexico Online. April 25, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  12. ^ "Cinco de Mayo: What's all the fuss about?" Julia Goralka. The Washington Times. May 2, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  13. ^ Happy Cinco de Mayo – Sorta. Ray Suarez. PBS News Hour. May 4, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  14. ^ David E. Hayes-Batista. El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 2012. p. 59.
  15. ^ Cinco de Mayo. Mexico Online: The Oldest and most trusted online guide to Mexico. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  16. ^ Cinco de Mayo. 2011. The History Channel website. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  17. ^ The Significance of "Cinco de Mayo". Ignacio González. 1996. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  18. ^ Cinco de Mayo -The Backstory. Tony Azios. 'Llero. Jaws Communications. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  19. ^ Cheryl VanBuskirk (May 7, 2009). "Cinco De Mayo: Join In The Celebration On The Fifth Of May". The Bulletin: Philadelphia's Family Newspaper. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  20. ^ History Channel.com. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  21. ^ a b Happy Cinco de Mayo: Top 10 Drunkest Holidays.. Time. By Frances Romero. Wednesday, May. 05, 2010.. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  22. ^ "Cinco de Mayo". Mexico Online. April 25, 2007. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  23. ^ a b c d "Cinco de Mayo". Mexico Online: The Oldest and most trusted online guide to Mexico.
  24. ^ Michael C. Meyer; William H. Beezley (2000). The Oxford History of Mexico. Oxford University Press. pp. 387–8.
  25. ^ a b Cinco De Mayo: Join In The Celebration On The Fifth Of May. Cheryl VanBuskirk. The Bulletin: Philadelphia's Family Newspaper. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. May 7, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  26. ^ The Battle of Puebla and Cinco de Mayo. PBS. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  27. ^ Cinco De Mayo: Join In The Celebration On The Fifth Of May. Cheryl VanBuskirk. The Bulletin: Philadelphia's Family Newspaper, May 7, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  28. ^ "Mexico's Lasting European Influence. By Jose Antonio Burciaga. Free Lance-Star Publishing. May, 2007. (First released in The Hispanic News Link. 1981.)". Banderasnews.com. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  29. ^ Robert L. Bidwell (April 1971). "The Political Evolution of the Mexican People. By Justo Sierra. Translated by Charles Ramsdell. Austin, TX: The University of Texas Press. 1969". Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs. 13 (2). Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Miami: 306–308. JSTOR 174689.
  30. ^ a b Southern California Quarterly "Cinco de Mayo's First Seventy-Five Years in Alta California: From Spontaneous Behavior to Sedimented Memory, 1862 to 1937" Spring 2007 (see American observation of Cinco de Mayo started in California) Retrieved October 30, 2007.
  31. ^ Hayes-Bautista, David E. (April 2009). "Cinco de Mayo: The Real Story". EGP News. Eastern Group Publications. Retrieved June 2, 2016. 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 rifles shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches.
  32. ^ Cinco de Mayo minor holiday in Mexico. UPI. World News. May 5, 2010. Retrieved May 15, 2010. Verified March 20, 2013.
  33. ^ Cesares, Oscar (May 5, 2010). "Holiday of Cinco de Mayo is minor event in Mexico". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  34. ^ "Cinco de Mayo". History.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  35. ^ Lovgren, Stefan. "Cinco de Mayo History: From Bloodshed to Beer Fest". National Geographic. Los Angeles. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  36. ^ Kane, Courtney (May 2, 2003). "Marketers extend their holiday efforts to a Mexican celebration and even to Lent". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2016. [Cinco de Mayo] gives us an opportunity ... to really get a jump-start on the summer beer-selling season
  37. ^ "Constellation Brands and Crown Imports Ring in Cinco de Mayo at New York Stock Exchange". ACNNewswire.com. Victor, New York: Asian Corporate News Network. May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  38. ^ Salem, Nancy (May 4, 2007). "Cinco de Mayo's history neglected; it's an excuse to party". The Albuquerque Tribune. Archived from the original on September 14, 2007. Retrieved April 25, 2016. From my perspective as a marketing professional, Cinco de Mayo has morphed into a national holiday designed by Fifth Avenue to sell alcohol and excite consumership around a party-type theme {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ Alamillo, José M. "Contesting Cinco de Mayo: Cultural Politics and Commercialization of Ethnic Festivals, 1930–1950". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved May 8, 2007. Cinco de Mayo is not just a fiesta anymore, the gringos have taken it on as a good sales pitch
  40. ^ Did You Know? Cinco de Mayo is more widely celebrated in USA than Mexico. Tony Burton. Mexconnect. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  41. ^ Cultural adaptation: the Cinco de Mayo holiday is far more widely celebrated in the USA than in Mexico. Geo-Mexico. May 2, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  42. ^ 25 Latino Craft Projects: Celebrating Culture in Your Library. Ana Elba Pabon. Diana Borrego. 2003. American Library Association. Page 14. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  43. ^ 7 Things You May Not Know About Cinco de Mayo. Jesse Greenspan. May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  44. ^ Congressional Record – House. Page 7488. 9 May 2001. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Note that contrary to most other sources, this source states the date Juarez declared Cinco de Mayo to be a national holiday was September 8, 1862.
  45. ^ Holidays 2013. U.S. Consulate in Mexico. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  46. ^ Los días de 2013 que, por ley, debes descansar. January 9, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  47. ^ Calendario Escolar 2012–2013. Secretaria de Educacion Publica. Government of Mexico. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  48. ^ Calendario Puebla 2012.. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  49. ^ Circular 0077-13 Calendario Oficial de Días Festivos 2013. Adelante. Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz. January 16, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  50. ^ Windsor festival Retrieved May 8, 2012. [dead link‍]
  51. ^ Canadian celebration; St. Albert, Canada 2012 celebration; Montreal celebration. Retrieved May 8, 2012. Archived 2012-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
  52. ^ "Cinco de Mayo Skydiving Boogie 2008". Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ Cayman Cinco de Mayo air guitar. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
  54. ^ Jamaica celebration. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  55. ^ "Brisbane Cinco de Mayo Mexican Festival"; Brisbane celebration
  56. ^ "Where to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in London". Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  57. ^ Mexican Ambassador to New Zealand honors Cinco de Mayo. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  58. ^ "El cinco de mayo – Paris – jeudi 05 mai" After Work. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  59. ^ Cinco de Mayo in South Africa Retrieved May 5, 2016
  60. ^ Cinco de Mayo in Lagos, Nigeria Retrieved May 5, 2016
  61. ^ Cinco de Mayo festivals in Osaka and Tokyo Retrieved May 5, 2016
  62. ^ "Cinco De Mayo Festival in Tokyo" JapanBases.com. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  63. ^ "Cinco de Mayo 2013: Celebrating the Americas" Cinco de Mayo Festival. Retrieved August 16, 2013.

Sources

  • Hayes-Bautista, David E. El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition (University of California Press; 2012) 293 pages


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