The Story of Cinco de Mayo
May 5 Celebration in Mexico
Cinco de Mayo is a very misunderstood holiday. Many people mistake Cinco de Mayo as the Mexican Independence Day. Mexico actually celebrates its independence from Spanish rule on September 16. Also, Cinco de Mayo is not really a huge celebration in Mexico. There are some places that do celebrate this day, but while it is a nationally recognized holiday, it is not a huge celebration in most parts of Mexico.
Cinco de Mayo History
In order to understand more about Cinco de Mayo, we need to understand a bit about Mexico’s history. Mexico was first a colony of Spain from which it gained its independence in 1810. This is celebrated on September 16 as Mexico’s Independence Day.
Years after that in 1861, the country was facing some difficulties and the President, Benito Juarez made the declaration that any debts were being put on hold and Mexico would not be paying any money for a period of time. With this declaration, the countries that had loaned money to Mexico immediately came to Mexico to ask for payment. While most countries were able to come to an agreement, France under the leadership of Napoleon III decided that it would be a good time to come and establish its empire in Mexico.
Shortly after, French troops arrived in the port of Veracruz and started working their way towards Mexico City to take over the government. Obviously, Mexico did not want France to take over and they fought back. The Mexicans were able to gather about 4,000 troops under the leadership of Ignacio Zaragoza and waited for the French in Puebla. The French army was almost twice the size of the Mexican Army, but because they knew the territory and were fighting for the land that they loved, the Mexican army was able to win the Battle for Puebla. The French retreated and Mexico was safe (for the time being).
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end there. A year later, France came back with 30,000 soldiers and this time were able to take over Mexico. Then a few years later, France decided they didn’t want to rule Mexico anymore and left. Mexico became an independent country again (and Benito Juarez was reestablished as President).
Cinco de Mayo in the United States
As you can see, the Battle for Puebla was a great victory for the Mexican people and it was established as a national holiday. Schools are closed and there are often small parades in memory of this great moment. However, the main celebration of this day came from someplace unexpected. Almost a year after the fight in Puebla, the Mexican people working in the mines in California heard about the victory. Their sense of national pride sparked a great celebration. From that time on, the Mexican people living in California celebrated their homeland on Cinco de Mayo.
The celebration grew over the years. In California, there are many parades and celebrations for this day. The popularity of the holiday spread and soon people of Mexican descent all over the United States joined in the celebration. Cinco de Mayo has become an American celebration of Mexico. Many people celebrate with parades, celebrations, or eating Mexican food. Many schools do activities that honor the Mexican heritage on this day.
Check out this page in Spanish.
Check out our other Cinco de Mayo resources here.
More About My Bilingual Life
Here at My Bilingual Life, we want to help you (or your students) become bilingual. You are in the right place if you are studying Spanish or English for yourself, you are a homeschool family looking for bilingual resources, or a classroom teacher in a dual language, immersion, or bilingual school. We have teacher resources available here.
These listening comprehension activities are perfect if you are studying a language by yourself. Therefore, they are simple for beginning students and provide comprehensible input. You can also practice reading fluency with the video transcript. We have suggestions on how you can best use these videos in both English and Spanish. Also included are activities to increase your vocabulary and comprehension.
We have many resources available on Teachers Pay Teachers. Be sure to check them out. For example, we have a series of biographies for Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month. We also have animal reading comprehension passages and a variety of vocabulary learning activities. There are also activities available for grammar and word walls.
As always, if we can help in any way, feel free to contact us by leaving a comment below or on our YouTube channel. If there is a particular subject or topic you would like to see, please let us know and we will add it to our content creation list.
