Yesterday was cinco de mayo. We talked about some misconceptions about cinco de mayo and learned a few things. Many people think that cinco de mayo is Mexican Independence Day, but that's in September! Cinco de mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla, a town near Mexico City. French soldiers arrived in Mexico in 1862 to collect money that Mexico owed them. Their underlying mission was to establish themselves in the Americas. The people of Puebla fought off the French even though they were outnumbered. It took about five years after the Battle of Puebla on cinco de mayo to get the French out of Mexico. But cinco de mayo is remembered as a special holiday because it was the first time that Mexican born Spaniards, Mexicans and the indigenous people of Mexico came together for a common cause.
¡Viva México!
