Happy Cinco de Mayo!
-
- May
- 5
Many people mistakenly think Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day. (It’s not. That day is Sept. 16.)Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates Mexicans’ victory over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Mexico had accumulated heavy debts to several nations, and France, eager to add to its empire at that time, invaded to recover the debt and establish leadership in Mexico. A small Mexican army led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin defeated the French. Although is it acknowledged nationwide, Cinco de Mayo is really celebrated with special events mainly in the Mexican state of Puebla.Of course, the holiday gaining more popularity in America, where it is increasingly associated with mariachis, margaritas and parties. About 2,700 Rockland residents are from Mexico, according to the 2000 census. An estimated 10 percent of Rockland’s roughly 286,000 residents are Hispanic. Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for ‘Fifth of May.’
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm by Suzan Clarke.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Share and Enjoy: del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Help | 
| 
I think a victory over the french army is one of the independence days. just my 3 cents.
Thanks for the clarification. I thought Cinco De Mayo was the day that we celebrate 5 different types of mayonaisse. Just my 5 centos.