I have a confession to make about Cinco de Mayo. This weekend
and on Wednesday, the popular holiday will be celebrated by
Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike throughout the United States.
I have a confession to make about Cinco de Mayo. This weekend and on Wednesday, the popular holiday will be celebrated by Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike throughout the United States.
I’ve attended several public Cinco de Mayo festivals over the years in the South Valley region, and I’ve enjoyed myself immensely.
But the truth is, I have been woefully lacking in knowledge about the holiday’s meaning. Why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Probably the majority of Americans know sadly little about the reason the fifth day of May is so revered by the Mexican-American community. Most people might tell you Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day, the day the people of our neighbor across the southern border overthrew the Spanish crown.
I use to think that also. But Mexico’s Independence Day takes place on Sept. 16 — not May 5.
I’ve been told Cinco de Mayo involves something concerning “The Battle of Puebla” – but what it might be, I have for many years been shamefully ignorant.
So, in a desire to correct this fault, this shortcoming in my education of history, I did some research on the history of Cinco de Mayo. And the story behind this festive holiday truly amazes me.
Cinco de Mayo celebrates an event that not only affected the course of Mexico’s history, but – indirectly – the history of the United States as well.
Here’s the historic account of why the date May 5 is now celebrated with such passion:
At midnight on Sept. 15, 1810, Mexico proclaimed its independence from Spain. At that time, Mexico’s borders included the areas of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California.
Of course, the Spanish weren’t exactly thrilled about losing such a vast and lucrative territory. Spanish soldiers continued occupying this vast stretch of land for another dozen or so years until a Mexican republic was proclaimed in 1823.
The new republic had a rocky beginning as violent disputes erupted between liberal and conservative factions as well as between supporters of the Church and its opponents. Soldier-politicians manipulated the chaotic condition of Mexican politics for their own interests.
And Mexico lost half of its land to the United States in a war fought between 1846 and 1848. For years after the Mexican-American War, Mexico faced political turmoil and economic problems. Dire circumstances forced the Mexican government to borrow money excessively from England, Spain and France over the next two decades.
The story now jumps to the year 1862. The American Civil War was raging, and it was not a good year for the Union Army. And France’s Emperor Napoleon III, who despised the United States, intended to supply the Confederate Army with arms and supplies to prolong this terrible war.
Napoleon III also had his eye on Mexico, seeing the country as easy-pickings for France’s colonial expansion. And the Mexican government announced it would default on its European loans.
England and Spain made a peaceful settlement. But on the pretense of collecting the debt, Napoleon III sent 8,000 of his toughest Foreign Legion soldiers to occupy Mexico and make it a French colony.
France planned to replace Mexico’s President Benito Juarez with a Hapsburg prince from Austria named Maximilian.
Dressed in their brilliantly colored uniforms and carrying that era’s most technically-advanced weapons, the French Dragoon soldiers began their march from Vera Cruz to take Mexico City.
About 100 miles east of the capital city, they arrived at a village named Puebla. Here, on the morning of May 5, about 4,000 Mexican cavalry and infantry men awaited the moment a battle would start that would help decide the Mexico’s fate.
The rag-tag force of Mexican soldiers were a David facing France’s Goliath.
At a signal, the French cavalry charged. The skilled Mexican horsemen deftly resisted and slaughtered many of the French, and chased many of them through the Mexican countryside.
The French infantry also began to battle with the Mexican soldiers, but the heavy equipment Napoleon III’s men carried was hampered by mud from a previous thunderstorm. And Indians armed only with machetes started a cattle stampede that raced down the French, killing many of them.
At the end of that day, the Mexicans stood victorious at Puebla. It was the first defeat for France’s army in 50 years, and a huge morale boost for Mexican independence.
The French did eventually capture Puebla and marched on to take Mexico City where Maximilian ruled as emperor until 1867, when he was finally defeated and shot.
In regards to the impact the Battle of Puebla had on American history, the Mexican victory prevented Napoleon III from supplying the Confederacy, thus aiding the northern states in gaining significant military victories including Gettysburg, a major turning point of the American Civil War.
Cinco de Mayo is when we celebrate the Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla. It is only right we make May 5 a day of fiesta because it honors the values of independence both nations were founded on.
Cinco de Mayo is not only a celebration of Mexican culture. The fifth day of May shows reverence for the noble truth that ordinary people have the right to determine for themselves their own form of government.
