Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for meaning “Fifth of May” and is celebrated yearly on May 5th in Mexico, more so in America. The celebration is over Mexico’s victory when they were at war with the French Empire. This is also known as the Battle of Puebla or Battle of May 5th that took place in Puebla De Los Angeles. The celebration is more popular in the United States than in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican American culture. Celebrations began in Columbia, California, where they have been observed annually since 1862. he day gained nationwide popularity beyond those of Mexican-American heritage in the 1980s due to advertising campaigns by beer, wine, and tequila companies; today, Cinco de Mayo generates beer sales on par with the Super Bowl. Cinco de Mayo is sometimes confused for Mexico’s Independence Day which is on September 16, when Mexico gained their independence from Spain. In this article, we will be discussing more on the cultural aspects in regard to the American flag and Cinco De Mayo.
“Today, it’s a widespread holiday in the US, and problematic Cinco de Mayo celebrations are held every year by people with no ties to Mexico who aren’t aware of the date’s history and traditions. Some restaurants, bars, and other businesses call the date “Cinco de drinko” and use it as an excuse to overindulge on Mexican beer and tacos, while others lean heavily on stereotypes by decorating with things like sombreros. These types of celebrations are somewhat comparable to the green beers and Irish stereotypes that proliferate on St. Patrick’s Day.”
History in Brief:
Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet attacked Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat. Moving on from Veracruz towards Mexico City, the French army encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans close to Puebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe. The French army of 6,500–8,000 attacked the poorly equipped Mexican army of 4,000. On May 5, 1862, the Mexicans decisively defeated the French army. The victory represented a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large and helped to establish a sense of national unity and patriotism.
“The Battle of Puebla may have also had an inadvertent impact on the United States, which, at the time, was embroiled in its Civil War. Sociologist David Hayes, author of “El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition,” has argued that by defeating the French at the Battle of Puebla, Mexicans prevented the French army from continuing northward toward the U.S. border, where they would have likely aided the Confederacy. So it’s possible that Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla changed the course of American history.
The Battle of Puebla was reportedly celebrated in the state of California, which still had strong ties to Mexico; aligned with the Union, the state’s citizens viewed the victory as a defense of freedom. For almost a century, few in the United States celebrated Cinco de Mayo. But it reemerged as an important holiday in California in the mid-20th century, sparked by the growing Chicano movement. The David versus Goliath story fittingly mirrored the struggle for civil rights.”
United States:
According to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in California in 1863 in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. “Far up in the gold country town of Columbia (now Columbia State Park) Mexican miners were so overjoyed at the news that they spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches.” A 2007 UCLA Newsroom article notes that “the holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico.” Time magazine reports that “Cinco de Mayo started to come into vogue in 1940s America during the rise of the Chicano Movement.’ The holiday crossed over from California into the rest of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s but did not gain popularity until the 1980s when marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it.
It grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican American populations, like:
- Los Angeles,
- Chicago,
- Houston,
- New York,
- Cleveland,
- Boston,
- Indianapolis,
- Raleigh,
- Dallas,
- San Antonio,
- Washington,
- Atlanta,
- Miami,
- Orlando,
- Denver,
- Phoenix,
- Philadelphia,
- Tucson,
- San Francisco,
- San Jose,
- San Diego.
An update in 2006 found that the number of official Cinco de Mayo events was 150 or more, according to José Alamillo, a professor of ethnic studies at Washington State University in Pullman, who has studied the cultural impact of Cinco de Mayo north of the border. Los Angeles’ Fiesta Broadway has been billed as the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, which it most certainly was at its peak in the 1990s when it attracted crowds of 500,000 or more. In recent years attendance has seen a dramatic decrease. On June 7, 2005, the United States Congress issued a concurrent resolution calling on the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo with appropriate ceremonies and activities. Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and services, with an emphasis on alcoholic beverages, foods and music, According to Nielsen, in 2013 more than $600 million worth of beer was purchased in the United States for Cinco de Mayo, more than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day. The May 4, 2023 edition of The Washington Post publicized an article describing the holiday of Cinco de Mayo as an American holiday with Mexican roots and not necessarily a Mexican Holiday.
“A California school dispute that arose when students wore shirts emblazoned with the American flag on Cinco de Mayo could prompt the Supreme Court to take a new look at free-speech rules for high schools.
The appeal in Dariano vs. Morgan Hill Unified School District asks the justices to decide whether wearing an American flag can be curtailed as an unnecessary provocation, or instead is a right of every citizen protected by the 1st Amendment. A decision on whether they will accept the case could come as soon as Monday.
The legal battle began on May 5, 2010, at Live Oak High School south of San Jose, when several students wore shirts bearing the American flag on the Mexican holiday marking the May 5, 1862, defeat of French invaders.
Their protest came in response to an incident the year before when a group of Mexican American students unfurled a Mexican flag on the holiday and paraded around the campus, triggering tensions with white students who began chanting, “USA! USA!”