Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's surprise defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This event occurred after years of civil war left Mexico bankrupt, forcing President Benito Juárez to suspend payments on its foreign debt in 1861. France, Britain, and Spain initially sent troops to demand repayment. While Britain and Spain withdrew, Napoleon III of France pursued broader imperial ambitions, seeking to overthrow Juárez and install a European monarch in Mexico.
At Puebla, a city around 80 miles southeast of Mexico City, Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza's outnumbered forces successfully repelled the French army, inflicting nearly 500 casualties. Although the French later captured Puebla and installed Archduke Maximilian of Austria as emperor, the victory became a powerful symbol of Mexican national identity and resistance.
The holiday was little celebrated in the US until the Chicano civil rights movement popularized it in the 1960s as an expression of cultural pride. Today, Cinco de Mayo is observed far more widely in the United States than in Mexico, largely shaped by beer and spirits marketing beginning in the 1980s. It is often mistakenly confused with Mexican Independence Day, which takes place on September 16.
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On May 5, 1862, Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza repelled a larger, more well-equipped French army at Puebla. The French endured roughly 500 deaths before retreating. Though the French ultimately captured Puebla a year later, the improbable one-day victory became a symbol of national pride.
In October 1861, the three powers signed the Convention of London and landed troops at Veracruz that December. Britain and Spain reached settlements with Mexico and withdrew. France refused and aimed to change the regime in power in Mexico.
Napoleon III used Mexico's default on foreign loans as cover for a larger imperial ambition: overthrowing President Benito Juárez's government and installing a French-backed monarchy. The Mexican army's surprise victory at Puebla helped delay those plans by nearly a year.
According to some experts, Napoleon III planned to ship weapons from Mexico to Confederate forces to break the Union naval blockade. The delay caused by the Battle of Puebla meant French resources didn't reach the Texas border until after the Union Army's decisive victory at Vicksburg.
California Latinos first celebrated Cinco de Mayo in 1862 through patriotic assemblies called Juntas Patrióticas. Ardent Union supporters, these individuals saw the Puebla victory as a win for democracy against both French imperialism and the Confederate cause.
After decades of little relevance, Chicano civil rights activists on campuses across the Southwest reclaimed the holiday in the late 1960s. Members of the movement described it as a declaration of cultural pride and self-determination
Starting in the early 1980s, breweries including Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors created Hispanic marketing departments and sponsored Cinco de Mayo events. By 2003, American beer companies spent over $5M annually on Cinco de Mayo advertising. Some users may experience a paywall.
Puebla is considered by many food experts to be an excellent culinary destination. Traditional dishes you may find there on Cinco de Mayo include mole poblano, a complex, dark sauce born in a 17th-century convent; chalupas, fried tortillas topped with salsa and meat; and chiles en nogada, stuffed peppers topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.
Beginning in the early 1980s, breweries positioned Cinco de Mayo as a "Mexican St. Patrick's Day," sponsoring events and targeting Latino consumers. Anheuser-Busch and Miller created Hispanic marketing departments, while Coors spent over $60 million marketing to Latino consumers.
Cinco de Mayo is widely mistaken for Mexican Independence Day. September 16 is the actual date, commemorating the 1810 Grito de Dolores, Father Miguel Hidalgo's call to revolution that launched Mexico's war against Spanish colonial rule.
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