Cinco de Mayo (Mexican Spanish:[ˈsiŋkoðeˈmaʝo];Spanish for 'Fifth of May') is an annual celebration held on May 5 to celebrateMexico's victory over theSecond French Empire at theBattle of Puebla in 1862,[1][2] led by GeneralIgnacio Zaragoza. Zaragoza died months after the battle from an illness, however, and a larger French force ultimately defeated the Mexican army at theSecond Battle of Puebla and then occupiedMexico City. Following the end of theAmerican Civil War in 1865, theUnited States began lending money and guns to the MexicanLiberals, pushing France and MexicanConservatives to the edge of defeat. At the opening of the French chambers in January 1866,Napoleon III announced that he would withdraw French troops from Mexico. In reply to a French request for American neutrality, the American secretary of stateWilliam H. Seward replied that French withdrawal from Mexico should be unconditional.
More popular in the United States than in Mexico,[3] Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration ofMexican-American culture.[4][5][6] Celebrations began inColumbia, California, where they have been observed annually since 1862.[7] The day gained nationwide popularity beyond those of Mexican-American heritage in the 1980s due to advertising campaigns by beer, wine, and tequila companies; today, Cinco de Mayo generates beer sales on par with theSuper Bowl.[8] In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades or battle reenactments. The city ofPuebla marks the event with various festivals and reenactments of the battle.
Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken forMexican Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16, commemorating theCry of Dolores in 1810, which initiated theMexican War of Independence from Spain.[1][9] Cinco de Mayo has been referenced and featured in entertainment media, and has become an increasingly global celebration of Mexican culture, cuisine, and heritage.
Cinco de Mayo has its roots in thesecond French intervention in Mexico, which took place in the aftermath of the 1846–48Mexican–American War and the 1858–61Reform War. The Reform War was a civil war that pittedLiberals (who believed inseparation of church and state andfreedom of religion) againstConservatives (who favored a tight bond between theCatholic Church and the Mexican state). These wars nearly bankrupted the Mexican Treasury. On July 17, 1861, Mexican PresidentBenito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years.[5][10] In response,France,Spain, and theUnited Kingdom held aconvention in London and joined in alliance to send naval forces toVeracruz to demand reimbursement. France, at the time ruled byNapoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish anempire in Mexico that would favor French interests, whereupon Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and peacefully withdrew. 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 excludeAnglophone American territories.[citation needed]
Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet attacked Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.[11] Moving on from Veracruz towardsMexico City, the French army encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans close toPuebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe.[12] The French army of 6,500–8,000[13][14][12] attacked the poorly equipped Mexican army of 4,000.[12][note 1] On May 5, 1862,[15] the Mexicans decisively defeated the French army.[16][17][18] The victory represented a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large[19][20] and helped to establish a sense of national unity and patriotism.[21]
"May 5, 1862 and the siege of Puebla", a 1901 image from theBiblioteca del Niño Mexicano, a series of booklets for children detailing the history of Mexico.
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 installEmperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico.[12] The French victory was itself short-lived, lasting only three years, from 1864 to 1867.[12] 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."[12] Upon the conclusion of theAmerican 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.[22] The Mexicans recaptured Mexico City, and Maximilian I was apprehended and executed, along with his Mexican generalsMiguel Miramón andTomás Mejía Camacho inCerro de las Campanas,Querétaro.[10][12] "On June 5, 1867, Benito Juárez entered Mexico City where he installed a new government organizing his administration."[10]
The Battle of Puebla was significant, both nationally and internationally, for several reasons. First, "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."[23][24][note 2] Second, since the overall failed French intervention, some have argued that no country in theAmericas has subsequently been invaded by any other military force from Europe.[25][note 3] HistorianJusto Sierra has suggested in hisPolitical 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 theConfederate States of America in theAmerican Civil War and the United States' destiny could have been different.[26][27]
The former Forts of Guadalupe and Loreto now house a museum.
On May 9, 1862, President Juárez declared that the anniversary of theBattle of Puebla would be a national holiday regarded as "Battle of Puebla Day" or "Battle of Cinco de Mayo".[28][29][30][31][32]
Porfirio Díaz leading Mexican troops in celebration of Cinco de Mayo in 1902
The national celebration of the day peaked during thePorfiriato, the long rule of President/dictatorPorfirio Díaz, who had fought in the Battle of Puebla as a young officer. According to historianKelly Lytle Hernández, Díaz "strategically turned the Cinco de Mayo Festival or celebration into a celebration of his power and his reign and made it something that was celebrated across Mexico and even in diasporic Mexican communities in the United States."[33] Because of this association, in much of Mexico, Cinco de Mayo celebrations declined after Díaz was deposed in theMexican Revolution.
Today, the commemoration of the battle is not observed as a national holiday in Mexico (i.e. not astatutory holiday).[34] However, all public schools are closed nationwide in Mexico on May 5.[35][36] The day is an official holiday in the State ofPuebla, where the Battle took place, and also a full holiday (no work) in the neighboring State ofVeracruz.[37][38]
In Puebla,historical reenactments, parades, and meals take place to commemorate the battle. Parade participants dress as French and Mexican soldiers to reenact the battle.[39] Every year the city also hosts theFestival Internacional de Puebla, which gathers national and international artists, traditional musicians and dancers,[39] as well as theFestival Internacional del Mole, with an emphasis on the city's iconicmole poblano.[39]
According to a paper published by theUCLA 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 inCalifornia in 1863 in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico.[41] "Far up in the gold country town ofColumbia (nowColumbia State Park) Mexicanminers were so overjoyed at the news that they spontaneously fired offrifle shots andfireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches."[42]
Cinco de Mayo dancers in Washington DC
A 2007 UCLA Newsroom article notes that "the holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico."[41]Time magazine reports that "Cinco de Mayo started to come into vogue in 1940s America during the rise of theChicano Movement."[20] 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, especiallybeer companies, capitalized on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it.[43][44] It grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican-American populations, likeLos Angeles,Chicago,Houston,New York, followed byCleveland,Boston,Indianapolis,Raleigh,Dallas,San Antonio,Washington, D.C.,Atlanta,Miami,Orlando,Denver,Phoenix,Philadelphia,Tucson,San Francisco,San Jose, andSan Diego.[45]
In a 1998 study in theJournal 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 ofethnic studies atWashington State University in Pullman, who has studied thecultural impact of Cinco de Mayo north of the border.[46] 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 1990s when it attracted crowds of 500,000 or more. In recent years attendance has seen a dramatic decrease.[47][48]
On June 7, 2005, theUnited States Congress issued aconcurrent resolution calling on thePresident of the United States to issue aproclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo with appropriate ceremonies and activities.[49] To celebrate, many display Cinco de Mayo banners whileschool 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 includebaile folklórico andmariachi demonstrations held annually at the Plaza delPueblo de Los Ángeles, nearOlvera Street. Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and services, with an emphasis onalcoholic beverages,[50][51] foods, and music.[52][53] According toNielsen, in 2013 more than $600 million worth of beer was purchased in the United States for Cinco de Mayo, more than for theSuper Bowl orSt. Patrick's Day.[8]
The May 4, 2023 edition ofThe Washington Post published an article describing the holiday of Cinco de Mayo as an American holiday with Mexican roots and not necessarily a Mexican holiday.[54]
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, some Canadian pubs play Mexican music and serve Mexican food and drink,[55] and a sky-diving club nearVancouver holds a Cinco de Mayo skydiving event.[56] In theCayman Islands, in theCaribbean, there is an annual Cinco de Mayoair guitar competition,[57] and atMontego Bay, Jamaica, there is a Cinco de Mayo celebration.[58] The city ofBrisbane,Queensland, Australia, holds an annual Mexican Festival[59] to honor the day, and celebrations are held inLondon[60] and New Zealand.[61] Other celebrations of the day can also be found inCape Town, South Africa,[62]Lagos, Nigeria,[63] and inParis, France.[64] Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Japan inOsaka and inTokyo'sYoyogi Park Event Space as a celebration of Latin American culture.[65][66][67]
^According to Mexico'sNational Institute of Historical Studies on the Mexican Revolution the Mexican force consisted of 4,802 soldiers.[1]Archived October 6, 2012, at theWayback Machine And Peter Hicks of the French Foundation Napoléon and other French sources state the size of the Mexican force was 12,000 men.[2][3]. Hayes-Batista clarifies on page 60 of hisEl Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition thatafter the smaller Mexican force had defeated the French on May 5, they received reinforcements on May 6 and 7 of approximately 12,000 additional Mexican soldiers.
^It has been pointed out that, contrary to reports onPBS and in Philadelphia'sThe Bulletin, the French were in fact considered to have been defeated by the Russians at theSiege of Petropavlovsk in 1854.
^The statement inThe Bulletin is, "This was the last time any army from another continent invaded the Americas."[23] Note it says "invaded", and not "attacked". Thus, since Cinco de Mayo no army from another continent hasinvaded the Americas. 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 defended (notinvaded) by the UK. Another example, Pearl Harbor, experienced an attack, not aninvasion 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.
^Krogstad, Jens (May 5, 2003)."University community celebrates Cinco de Mayo".The Minnesota Daily. University of Minnesota. Archived fromthe original on November 18, 2007. RetrievedApril 25, 2016.Today, the holiday is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico
^Hayes-Bautista, David E. (April 2009)."Cinco de Mayo: The Real Story".EGP News. Eastern Group Publications. Archived fromthe original on June 12, 2016. RetrievedJune 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.
^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.doi:10.2307/174689.JSTOR174689.
^Congressional Record – House. Page 7488. 9 May 2001. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Contrary to most other sources, this source states the date Juarez declared Cinco de Mayo to be a national holiday was September 8, 1862.
^abSouthern California Quarterly "Cinco de Mayo's First Seventy-Five Years in Alta California: From Spontaneous Behavior to Sedimented Memory, 1862 to 1937" Spring 2007 (seeAmerican observation of Cinco de Mayo started in California) Retrieved October 30, 2007.
^Hayes-Bautista, David E. (April 2009)."Cinco de Mayo: The Real Story".EGP News. Eastern Group Publications. Archived fromthe original on June 12, 2016. RetrievedJune 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.
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