Cinco de Mayo: Why is it celebrated?
It’s Cinco de Mayo on Friday, as the calendar kindly reminds us.
This year, the annual Mexican holiday falls on a prime night for parties, with no early-morning Saturday wake-up calls for work in the forecast for many of us.
Among the Cinco de Mayo festivities in Volusia County, there will be a fiesta at Dunes Brewing in Port Orange to celebrate the limited-time re-release of the craft brewery’s Brochacho Mexican lager.
To mark the occasion, the brewery also will showcase a free, 8-match Lucha Libre wrestling match from 5-8 p.m. in its parking lot in the shadow of the Dunlawton Bridge, at 59 Dunlawton Ave., Unit 102.
In case you missed it: Dunes Brewing in Port Orange unveils 'Brochacho,' a special Cinco de Mayo brew
Cinco de Mayo recommendations: For Cinco de Mayo or Taco Tuesday, here's the best Mexican restaurants near Daytona Beach
Before heading out to celebrate the holiday at that event or others, here’s a look at the history and meaning of Cinco de Mayo:
What does Cinco de Mayo celebrate?
Cinco de Mayo, which means “Fifth of May” in Spanish, is also more formally known as the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla. It’s a holiday celebrated in parts of Mexico and the United States in honor of a Mexican military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III.
What happened at the Battle of Puebla?
When Mexico declared a moratorium on the repayment of foreign debts in 1861, English, Spanish, and French troops invaded the country. By April 1862 the English and Spanish had withdrawn, but the French remained.
On May 5, 1862, a poorly equipped force under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated French troops at the Battle of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City. About 1,000 French troops were killed in the battle.
Although fighting against the French continued for another five years, the Puebla victory became a symbol of Mexican resistance. Later renamed Puebla de Zaragoza, the city is the site of a museum devoted to the battle and the battlefield itself has been transformed into a park.
No, it's not Mexican Independence Day
Cinco de Mayo is not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which falls on September 16. That holiday was established in 1810, some 50 years before the Battle of Puebla occurred.
Is Cinco de Mayo a big deal in Mexico?
The holiday is celebrated in the state of Puebla with parades, speeches, and reenactments of the 1862 battle, but elsewhere in the country the holiday isn’t a major event.
It’s a bigger deal in the United States, where Cinco de Mayo was embraced in the mid-20th century as a way for Mexican immigrants to show pride in their Mexican heritage. The holiday didn’t enjoy broader mainstream popularity, however, until it became tied with the promotion of Mexican alcoholic beverages, a commercial connection that has drawn criticism for diluting its cultural significance.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Cinco de Mayo: Why is it celebrated?
