Well, we’ve kicked off the busy month of May around here — today is the fifth and it’s Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that celebrates the date of the Mexican Army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. As we’ve talked about before, it is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico. In many places is simply known as the Battle of Puebla Day.
Since we’re all still staying at home, this is a good opportunity to talk about today and maybe learn a little history…
Today commemorates a single battle. First, a little background — in 1861, Benito Juárez, a lawyer and member of the indigenous Zapotec tribe, was elected president of Mexico. At the time, the country was in financial ruin after years of internal strife, and the new president was forced to default on debt payments to European governments. In response, France, Britain and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz, Mexico, demanding payment. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew their forces. But France, ruled by Napoleon III, saw this as an opportunity to carve an empire out of Mexican territory. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz and landed a large force of troops — that drove President Juárez and his government into retreat.
The French were certain that victory would come swiftly and General Charles Latrille de Lorencez led 6,000 French troops to attack Puebla de Los Angeles, a small town in east-central Mexico. Juárez rounded up a ragtag force of 2,000 men — many of them either indigenous Mexicans or of mixed ancestry — and sent them to Puebla. The vastly outnumbered and poorly supplied Mexicans, led by Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza, fortified the town and prepared for the French assault. On May 5, 1862, Lorencez gathered his army — supported by heavy artillery, and led an assault on the city of Puebla. The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening, and when the French finally retreated they had lost nearly 500 soldiers. Fewer than 100 Mexicans had been killed in the skirmish.
The Battle of Puebla wasn’t a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, but it was a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement.
In 1867, partly because of military support and political pressure from the United States, France finally withdrew.
As you probably know, Cinco de Mayo is a bigger deal here than in Mexico. Cinco de May is primarily observed in the state of Puebla in Mexico, although other parts of the country also take part in the celebration. For many/most Mexicans, May 5 is a “regular” day — it isn’t a federal holiday, so offices, banks and stores are open for business.
In the United States, Cinco de Mayo began to become popular in the 1960s… initially, many in the US thought it was a celebration of Mexican independence — it’s not, of course, Mexican Independence Day is September 16. Today, other than a good excuse to drink margaritas, the day is thought of as a day to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. Some of the largest Cinco de Mayo festivals are held in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.
I guess it shouldn’t come as any surprise that 47% of all drinks ordered on Cinco de Mayo are margaritas… I’m sure tequila sales go up around this time of year, too. My extensive research uncovered an interesting fact about tequila. Centuries ago, tequila couldn’t be enjoyed by all Mexican people. Aztec priests used to make a milky beer-like drink from the agave plant called pulque. Only the priests could consume this precursor of tequila.
I probably should mention that Carnegie Music Hall originally opened on May 5h and this date also marks the launch of the first American-manned space flight (in 1961.) But whatever day you’re celebrating, it seems like a good occasion for a margarita…..
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