Cinco De Mayo- The American Holiday

Well, the Mexico Mission Team got back from Mexico yesterday and we had a blast! We spent Cinco de Mayo in Mexico and I noticed that no one was celebrating at all. So I thought that I would blog about it and explain the reason why it is celebrated more in America than it is in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican victory against the French on May 5, 1862. The battle is now known as the Battle of Puebla, with General Ignacio Zaragoza leading the Mexican army. The history concerning the battle began earlier in 1862 when the Mexicans refused to pay taxes to the governments of other countries ruling over them. As a result, Spain, Britain, and France sent troops to Mexico to enforce their dominion over the people. The elected official of Mexico at the time was able to make agreements with Spain and Britain, but not with the French. The armies of Spain and Britain retreated out of the country, but the French army stayed.

The French prepared themselves to make an attack against Mexico City on May 4, but they were met with strong resistance. A small number of Mexicans had become allies to the French at this time and were planning to help the French armies, but they were unable to reach them as they were attacked by Mexican loyalists. Therefore, the French did lose more men than they had planned, but their army was still decent and ready for combat.

Despite the French army's losses, the army of Zaragoza was still incredibly small in comparison. However, Zaragoza's army entered into combat against the French on May 5 and were victorious.

Cinco de Mayo is not the Day of Independence for the Mexicans, theirs being on September 16. Cinco de Mayo celebrates a victory against France, but the Mexicans were more concerned with defeating the Spain, which they succeeded in doing on September 16. Americans tend to celebrate Cinco de Mayo more because it drove French influence out of the Americas, French influences which would have changed many aspects of American culture today.