Cinco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico, but in the United States, it is a major excuse to celebrate and indulge in margaritas, beer, and Mexican food. Friday will mark the 161st anniversary of Cinco de Mayo and there’s buzz all over social media and the news on events going on around Southern California.
But what exactly is Cinco de Mayo and why do we celebrate it?
Many people tend to confuse Cinco de Mayo with “Día de la Independencia,” or Mexico’s Independence Day, but the holiday, also known as “El Grito de la Independencia,” is observed on Sept. 16, when Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain.
In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is not a celebration but a day to remember and commemorate Mexico’s victory over the French during the 1862 Battle of Puebla. The Mexican army led by Ignacio Zaragoza, a 33-year-old Texan from Goliad was outnumbered and defeated the invading French forces at the small town of Puebla de Los Angeles during the Franco-Mexico War.
Cinco de Mayo was first celebrated back in the 1860s when Mexicans living in California commemorated the victory over France in Puebla.
"For Mexicans in the U.S., the Civil War and the French invasion of Mexico were like one war with two fronts. They were concerned about France, which sided with the Confederacy, being on America's doorstep,” David Hayes-Bautista, professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the University of California Los Angeles, told NBC News.
The tradition of celebrating Cinco de Mayo continued in Los Angeles without interruption since 1862, according to Hayes-Bautista, even though the original reason and the history have gotten lost.
Cinco de Mayo became popular in the United Stated about a century later when Chicano activists rediscovered the holiday and embraced it as a symbol of ethnic pride. But the party-filled Cinco de Mayo that Americans celebrate today did not become popular until U.S. beer companies began targeting the Spanish-speaking population in the 1970s and 1980s, Jose Alamillo, a California professor of Chicano studies, told Time.com.
Today, Cinco de Mayo in the U.S. is a celebration of Mexican-American culture, with the largest event in Los Angeles.
And if you want to celebrate it the right way, put down the taco, and enjoy the traditional dish instead. Contrary to widespread belief, you won’t find the typical Mexican-American foods like beef tacos, nachos and frozen margaritas in Mexico on Cinco de Mayo. The traditional dish eaten in the town of Puebla on their big holiday is mole poblano, according to the Smithsonian.
Mole is a heavy sauce made with chocolate, chiles, nuts and other spices. The sauce is traditionally covered with succulent chicken or turkey.
There are different mole recipes and they vary from family to family and by state in Mexico, but they all have one thing in common. The sauce is served on the most special occasions such as weddings, baby showers and holidays.
If you want to make this classic Mexican sauce, try this recipe from Lourdes Juarez.
Source: NBC San Diego