It’s the end of April, and I’m making my way to the local grocery store to stock up on essentials. Walking through the entrance, I subtly pick up some differences from my previous week’s visit. A stand of tortillas and salsa is placed front and center between aisles with discounts marked. Colorful banners hang above with festive sombreros made of accordion-folded paper. A large sign declares a “Cinco de Mayo” sale, and I felt the same as I do every year as this day rolls around: a paradoxical, unimpressed surprise.
While less intense than Fourth of July celebrations, Cinco de Mayo generates significant sales with marketing, advertisements, bar crawls and parties. But what is Cinco de Mayo really about?
It does not mark Mexico’s independence from Spain or even a battle with Spain. The holiday commemorates the Mexican forces’ defeat of the French army attempting to take Puebla, Mexico in 1862 during the Second French Intervention in Mexico.
How did it become a significant event? Why celebrate one battle? Notably, Americans engage more with the holiday than Mexicans, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Before May 5, events and sales occur nationwide, with businesses leveraging the day to attract customers. On May 4, the Cinco de Mayo Market was held at Trinity Groves in Dallas, to which I paid a visit. Local vendors displayed clothing, food and wares under bright tents. Paula Pfister, who runs the Mexican ice cream shop La Valentina, had a stand at the market.
“It’s not something that Mexicans celebrate. I think that’s more of an American thing,” Pfister said.
Pfister, a small business owner, noted that Cinco de Mayo aligns more with drinking culture in the U.S. than among Hispanics.
“I mean, kudos to them. I feel like they would need to do a little bit more research than just ‘Oh, it’s a margarita day or a get drunk kind of day,’” Pfister said.
Adrian Chavez, a Dallas native whose family owns a Mexican restaurant chain, remains indifferent to the holiday, leaving it unmarked.
“If there’s any positive or anything that I get out of it—I know some restaurants have some deals, but other than that, not much,” Chavez said.
Beyond their lukewarm sentiments, Pfister, Chavez and many Hispanics share confusion about Cinco de Mayo’s history. Both knew it centered on a battle fought by the Mexican army, but lacked a deeper understanding. Many Americans mistakenly believe the holiday marks Mexico’s Independence Day.
“May 5 had a different meaning in the American context,” Pablo Mijangos, a Latin American history professor at SMU, said. “So it didn’t really matter for most Mexicans. May 5 had a different meaning here [in Mexico]. It was a way to say we are proud to be Mexicans.”
As Mijangos explained, Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day, celebrated Sept. 16, are sources of pride for Mexicans. The Battle of Puebla’s significance lies in its symbolism of strength.
“You need to contextualize the Battle of Puebla,” Mijangos said.“[It] took place in a very complex moment in Mexican history.”
The Reform War, or “La Reforma,” was a Mexican civil war from 1857 to 1861. Liberals and conservatives clashed over the country’s structure, with liberals aiming to limit the church’s influence and establish democracy. In contrast, conservatives sought to maintain the Catholic Church’s power and a traditional hierarchy.
“That war ended—provisionally ended in December 1860 with a provisional victory of the liberal party,” Mijangos said.
By the conflict’s end, Mexico’s government was bankrupt. President Benito Juarez suspended foreign debt payments to Britain, Spain and France. Mijangos noted that these nations exploited Mexico’s weakened state, occupying the port of Veracruz to control customs revenues and recover debts.
In early 1862, Spain and Britain negotiated a deal with Mexico and withdrew.
“But by that moment, France, which was one of the three countries that took control of Veracruz, had other plans because the French Emperor at the time, Napoleon III, considered that Mexico could be the door for what he called a ‘Latin America,’” Mijangos said.
“Latin America” referred to preserving Roman Catholic culture in the Americas. Napoleon III aimed to establish a French protectorate, continuing the invasion alone. The French army advanced toward Puebla, 80 miles southeast of Mexico City.
“The French Army was one of the most professional and powerful armies of the world. It was a colonial army, and the Battle of Puebla, May 5th, 1862, stopped the French forces [from getting] into the city and forced them to retreat,” Mijangos said.
Despite being outnumbered and underequipped, Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French. While not ending the war, the victory boosted morale and delayed the French advance.
Mijangos subtly smiled, recounting the battle as if he were there.
“It was a symbolic victory,” Mijangos said.
Mijangos concluded with his thoughts on how others should approach recognizing the holiday.
“For me, the best way to celebrate—to commemorate any holiday, not just Cinco de Mayo—any holiday, is to really delve into the history that is behind it,” Mijangos said. “Instead of the ideological trash, I would love to hear people saying, ‘I want to know more about Mexico, about the people, its culture, its traditions.’”
Cinco de Mayo is a day of pride, and everyone can agree that understanding its history outweighs discounted margaritas. However, for those like Chavez, there is still a welcome to good-hearted celebrations of Mexican culture and tradition.
“As long as people respectfully celebrate it and choose to have fun in their own way,” Chavez said.“The more the merrier.”