I grew up in Southwest Idaho, an area rich in Hispanic culture. As a youngster, I entered coloring contests for “Cinco de Mayo” at our local grocery store (even won one once!) and enjoyed great Mexican food. Looking back, I realized that “Cinco de Mayo” meant “5th of May”, but really had no idea what the significance of that day was. This year, I looked up some information to find out why this day is so celebrated.

I found out that, surprisingly, this holiday is well known in the US, but not widely recognized in Mexico. It’s not the date of Mexican independence (that’s September 16th), nor is the date one that every school child will learn in History class. May 5, 1862 was the date of a battle in Mexico at the city of Puebla. It seems the French were a bit put with President Benito Juarez and invaded Mexico. The much larger French army was defeated initially at the Battle of Puebla, but went on to take over the country – for a little while. With help from the US, Juarez was able to retake Mexico.

From Wikipedia:

The Battle of Puebla was important for at least two reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army. “This battle was significant in that the 4,000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army of 8,000 that had not been defeated for almost 50 years.”^[13][14] Second, it was significant because since the Battle of Puebla no country in the Americas has been invaded by an army from another continent.^[15]

Here in Southwest Idaho, there are several “Cinco de Mayo” celebrations. My hometown of Caldwell celebrated last Saturday with a festival. The capital city of Boise is hosting a new event to celebrate Mexican culture tonight at 4pm:

Check out Boise’s newest event that celebrates Mexican culture with a community fiesta in The Grove. You’ll find displays of traditional Mexican folk art, performances by mariachi bands, folkloric and Aztec dancers winding up with music from the band Deseados Musical. Food will be supplied by Chronic Taco and Casa del Sol, and beer and wine will be for sale. (courtesy Idaho Statesman)

Around the country, Americans of all racial backgrounds use this day to celebrate the vast and varied culture of our southern neighbor. From Mexican food and crafts to dancing and storytelling, Cinco de Mayo is a recognition of the rich heritage of Mexico.

¡Viva México!

~R