May 5th – Cinco de Mayo (The Fifth of May) & The Battle of Puebla
Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) is not a Mexican federal holiday and the date has no meaning to most of the locals in Tijuana. In the State of Puebla Cinco de Mayo it is a state holiday. Thus in most of Mexico employees do not receive a day off (with or without pay) and banks, schools, government offices, and businesses are open as usual. The Mexican flag is flown at full staff on Cinco de Mayo in the manner provided for under the Ley sobre el Escudo, Bandera y el Himno Nacionales (Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem). Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) is not, as many people think, Mexico’s Independence Day. Nor is the Día de la Revolucíon (Revolution Day) celebrated on November 20th Mexico’s Independence Day. In Mexico the November 20th holiday celebrates the Mexico Revolution that began in 1910, which resulted in the overthrow of the rule of Portirio Díaz from 1876 to 1911 and the adoption of Mexico’s current constitution on February 5, 1917, marking the beginning of modern Mexico and leading to the formation of PRI party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional or Institutional Revolutionary Party) which was formed at the end of over a decade of sporadic outbreaks of civil unrest that followed the adoption of the 1917 Mexican constitution. Mexico’s Independence Day is September 16th. El Grito, the famous Cry of Independence, which began Mexico’s struggle for independence from Spain is repeated by the president of Mexico in a national ceremony each year at 11 pm on September 15th with Mexican independence celebrations lasting two days. Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday in the Mexican state of Puebla with a large celebration held in the state capital, which is the City of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated in any significant way in other parts of the Mexico, although it is celebrated in the United States, especially in cities having a large Mexican-American population. The holiday of Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) commemorates the victory of the outnumbered Mexican forces over the French troops who supported Maximilian I, emperor during the Second Mexican Empire, at The Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The number of French reported killed ranged from 476 to 1,000, although many of the troops were already ill from their stay in the coastal lowlands. Mexican losses were reported to be eighty-six.
The Battle of Puebla on May 5th
General Ignacio Zaragoza, who commanded the victorious Mexican troops at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, was born in 1829 in Goliad, Texas when Texas was still part of Mexico. Zaragoza’s favorite son status among Mexican-Americans in Texas resulted in large Cinco de Mayo celebrations being held in Texas. These celebrations gradually spread throughout other parts of United States until today Cinco de Mayo is more vigorously celebrated in the United States (especially in cities with large Mexican-American populations) than in most parts of Mexico.
The Popularity of Cinco de Mayo in the United States
The Cinco de Mayo holiday has many ties to United States history. Which include General Ignacio Zaragosa, the commander of the Mexican forces, being a native of what is now Texas