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Cinco de Mayo

The Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) holiday has been celebrated in California since 1863 and has subsequently spread to other states. Although Cinco de Mayo is sometimes conflated with Mexican Independence Day (September 16, 1810), the first Cinco de Mayo celebration commemorated the battle of Puebla (May 5, 1862), when the Mexican army temporarily defeated invading French troops. Later observations of Cinco de Mayo celebrated Mexican heritage, identity, culture, and pride.

Despite Cinco de Mayo being observed by people from diverse backgrounds, Mexican immigrants have been instrumental in planning and executing the celebrations. This has resulted in Cinco de Mayo becoming less about Puebla, and more about Mexican culture within the United States. Cinco de Mayo has frequently included U.S. and Mexican flags and memorialized U.S. historical figures of Mexican ancestry, like César E. Chávez, and Mexican historical figures, like Frida Kahlo. Cinco de Mayo has also come to represent the United States’ and Mexico's joint history in defending freedom in North America.

Battle of the Puebla

While the United States, under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, was immersed in its Civil War (1861–65), Mexico struggled to keep its sovereignty from Napoleon III of France. Mexico's troubles with France began in December 1857, when Mexican conservatives, seeking to reestablish elite privileges, revolted against a newly formed liberal government. To fund their war effort, conservatives borrowed money from Spain, Great Britain, and France. After three years of bloodshed, Benito Juárez (president of Mexico from 1858 to 1872) and his liberal army regained control of Mexico City, marking a short-lived peace in Mexico. Juárez inherited the conservative government's debt to Spain, Great Britain, and France. Lacking the capital to repay the loans, Juárez declared on July 17, 1861, the first battle of the U.S. Civil War—that he would suspend payments of foreign debt for two years.

In 1862, France, Spain, and England pressured Mexico by landing troops on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. After a few weeks, only France remained, and it became clear that Napoleon III had aspirations of conquest. Because the Mexican army had been routed by the United States in 1848, most Europeans believed that France's elite army would swiftly defeat Mexican forces and easily take control. Therefore, the world was dumbfounded when the French clashed with local forces in Puebla on May 5, 1862, and the Mexicans won. However, French forces eventually captured Puebla, and Mexico City succumbed in 1863. Even though French troops occupied Mexico until 1867, the battle of Puebla created a sense of national pride and unity for Mexicans in Mexico and the United States alike. In May 1863, California became the first state to celebrate the Mexican victory at Puebla.

Mexican Immigration

The Gold Rush (1848–55) had attracted many Mexicans to California. These newcomers joined Californians of Mexican ancestry who came to California before 1847, when the region was still part of Mexico. These people followed the events of the War of French Intervention almost as closely as they did those of the U.S. Civil War. Moreover, Californians of Mexican ancestry and Mexican immigrants made a conscious effort to observe Cinco de Mayo because of its social implications. At the time of the battle of Puebla, Westerners believed that Mexico and the rest of Latin America lacked civilization and culture. Mexico's victory at Puebla provided people of Latin American ancestry with pride and suggested that perhaps Mexico and Latin America not as backward as critics thought.

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