Cinco De Mayo Essay

I am writing this paper for the purpose of helping the reader understand more about an integral part of Mexican history. Cinco de Mayo means different things for many different people. It is celebrated differently around Mexico and in the United States. Cinco de Mayo literally translates as “the fifth of May”. It should never be disordered as Mexico’s independence day, but it is associated with the July 4th one would celebrate in the U.S.

To truly understand more about Cinco de Mayo, one must first understand the history of Mexico’s Independence Day. In 1861, Mexico was a country struggling with financial ruin and poverty. Mexico had dues to the countries of Britain, Spain, and France. The leader of Mexico at the time, Mexican Benito Juárez, was forced to back out on these liabilities; of course, Britain, Spain, and France were not going to settle without collecting their dues. While Britain and Spain were able to work out their problems with Mexico, France was not, and this would create problems for the impoverished, indebted country of Mexico if the French were to gain control

of their government. Though the French won a battle at the start of this Franco-Mexican war, the Mexican army overcame them at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th. The Spanish lost fewer than one hundred soldiers while the French army lost almost five hundred men at the Battle of Puebla. Henceforth giving us Cinco de Mayo.
Even though most Americans regard it as one of the most important holidays in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is actually a small holiday when it comes to Mexican celebrations.

Most Mexican do not consider Cinco de Mayo to be an important holiday because, while schools do get out, most banks and other businesses do not close on Cinco de Mayo. If a tourist wanted to see a full-fledged Cinco de Mayo celebration, their best bet would be to look in the city of Puebla, Mexico—the city where the Battle of Puebla was won by the Mexican forces so many years ago. The celebration includes a huge parade (with approximately twenty thousand participants), fairs, and many alcoholic parties. Each year the event in Puebla expects nearly one million visitors. Many say that the Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Puebla resemble a fair. Puebla is one of the only places in Mexico that Cinco de Mayo is actually

celebrated.
Cinco de Mayo is celebrated very differently in the U.S. Most believe even though Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday, it is celebrated more in the U.S. than in Mexico. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is often thought to be Mexico’s Independence Day, which is actually September 16. In the United States, when most Americans think of Cinco de Mayo they think of a time to celebrate Mexican heritage. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in the U.S. with parties, drinking, and many other things that are taken from the Mexican culture. Many people also believe that the Cinco de Mayo industry is also largely celebrated due to marketing in an attempt to sell more Mexican food and memorabilia.
In conclusion, Cinco de Mayo is a very small holiday that celebrates a very small portion of Mexican history. Most Americans use Cinco de Mayo to celebrate a time of their neighboring country of Mexico’s heritage and culture and have a little fun while they are at it. Cinco de Mayo gave hope to the small country of Mexico in a time when hope was desperately needed. The Battle of Puebla was a miracle won by the Mexican army, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was a very small portion of Mexican history and continues to be a small portion of Mexican culture today.