1. A misunderstood holiday
Cinco de Mayo
A misunderstood holiday

2. What is Cinco de Mayo?

3. Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Yet Cinco de Mayo is celebrated only sporadically in Mexico, mainly in the southern town of Puebla and a few larger cities.

4. Cinco de Mayo History: Battle of Puebla
In 1862 a Mexican militia led by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated far better equipped French expeditionary forces on Cinco de Mayo.
Emperor Napoleon III had sent French troops to Mexico to secure dominance over the former Spanish colony and install one of his relatives, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, as its ruler.
Zaragoza won the battle, but the Mexicans ultimately lost the war. Maximilian became Mexico's emperor for three years before the country reclaimed its independence.

5. Cinco de Mayo: From Brotherly Love to Chicano Power
Cinco de Mayo gained its first popularity in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s, partly because of an outpouring of brotherly love.
The holiday's popularity really grew in the 1960s, when Mexican-American, or Chicano, activists embraced the holiday as a way to build pride among Mexican Americans.

6. Cinco de Mayo: From Culture to Commercialism
In the 1980’s Cinco de Mayo was heavily commercialized.
Alcoholic Beverage companies promoted their beverages and exploited the day as an excuse to sell their products.
There has been a movement to try to return the holiday back to it’s cultural roots.

7. Cinco de Mayo is NOT: Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day.
Mexican Independence Day is September 16.

8. Cinco de Mayo
Is celebrated more in the United States by Mexican-Americans than it is celebrated in Mexico by Mexicans. (Except for the area of Puebla in Mexico.)
It is a day to celebrate Mexican-American culture and heritage.
Commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

9. Cinco de Mayo Images

10. More Information on Cinco De Mayo
Cinco de Mayo, From Mexican Fiesta to Popular U.S. Holiday
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo by Deborah Heiligman

11. References National Geographic
Image:
OregonLive.com