What is Cinco de Mayo?

Believe it or not, Cinco de Mayo isn't about selling beer and drinking margaritas, though like any good celebration, it's fun to have fun with your friends, right?

More formally known as El Cinco de Mayo ("The Fifth of May" in Spanish) it's a national celebration in Mexico that commemorates the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Unlike what most Americans believe, however, it's not the Mexican equivalent of July 4th, Independence Day, here in the United States.

Here's the full story: In 1862, in response to Mexico's refusal to pay off its debt, Britain, Spain and France sent troops to Mexico; they arrived in January of 1862. The new democratically-elected government of President Benito Juárez made agreements with the British and the Spanish, who promptly recalled their armies, but the French stayed, thus beginning the period of the French intervention in Mexico. Emperor Napoleon III wanted to secure French dominance in the former Spanish colony, including installing one of his relatives, Archduke Maximillian of Austria, as ruler of Mexico.

Confident of a quick victory, 6,500 French soldiers marched on to Mexico City to seize the capital before the Mexicans could muster a viable defense. Along their march, the French already encountered stiff resistance before Zaragoza struck out to intercept the invaders.

The battle between the French and Mexican armies occurred on May 5 when Zaragoza's ill-equipped militia of 4,500 men encountered the better-armed French force. However, Zaragoza's small and nimble cavalry units were able to prevent French soldiers from taking the field and overwhelming the Mexican infantry. With the soldiers removed from the main attack, the Mexicans routed the remaining French soldiers with a combination of their tenacity, inhospitable terrain, and a stampede of cattle set off by local peasants. The invasion was stopped and the French were crushed.

Antonio González Orozco, Juárez, símbolo de la repúública, 1972

General Zaragoza, through the Mexican War Ministry, issued the following message: "The National arms are covered with glory! I can affirm with pride that at no moment did the Méxican soldiers turn their backs to the enemy."

Zaragoza won the battle but lost the war, however.

The French Emperor, upon learning of the failed invasion, immediately dispatched another force, this time numbering 30,000 soldiers. By 1864, they succeeded in defeating the Mexican army and occupying Mexico City. Archduke Maximillian, younger brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and a member of the Hapsburg dynasty, was crowned Emperor of Mexico.

Maximilian's rule was short-lived. Mexican rebels opposed to his rule resisted, seeking the aid of the United States. Once the American Civil War was over, the U.S. military began supplying Mexicans with weapons and ammunition, and by 1867, the rebels finally defeated the French and deposed their puppet Emperor.

Sources include Wikipedia and Olvera Street.com. To learn more about Cinco de Mayo I suggest you check out Cinco De Mayo: Cultural History from the Mexican Government Web site Presidencia.gob.mx.