On May 5, in Puebla de Los Angeles – located in central Mexico – 6,000 French troops faced 2,000 Mexican soldiers at daybreak, according to History.com. Despite the overwhelming odds, by that night Mexico had claimed victory. A few days later, Juárez designated May 5 as a holiday.
Cinco de Mayo, which means “Fifth of May” in Spanish, commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It’s also a popular occasion in schools for educational activities that teach students about Mexican culture and history.
That’s sort of the way that I view the celebration that we undertake on the fifth of May each and every year that’s better known by its Mexican name – Cinco de Mayo. We all know that that day is when folks gather to drink Mexican beer, enjoy lots of guacamole and tacos and generally act up with reckless abandon.
