“Cinco de Mayo” on May 5th – A Celebration of Mexican Culture
Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of Mexicans over French troops in The Battle of Puebla in 1862. This, despite the fact that the Mexicans were ill equipped and outnumbered. The Mexicans only had about 4000 troops versus France’s 7000+. Winning against the odds in this battle gave Mexicans the motivation to persevere. In 1867, they finally got rid of the French backed government that ruled Mexico at the time.
In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is mainly celebrated regionally in Puebla. Puebla is both a Mexican state, and it’s also the capital city of that state. Mexican Independence Day on September 16th is more important in the whole of Mexico.
Cinco de Mayo has become very a big event in US cities that have large populations of immigrants from Mexico. It’s come to be seen as a celebration of Mexican culture. In many cities there are parades and festivals with Mexican music, dancing and cuisine.
Of course an important saying on Cinco de Mayo is ¡Viva México! or Long live Mexico!
I welcome Cinco de Mayo songs or comments about customs below.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Mexico Page for Mexican Songs!
August 15th, 2009 at 3:39 am
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Good luck with your school! If you’d like to send us a recording of a song from Mexico (or elsewhere), that would be great!
Cheers!
Mama Lisa