Cinco De Mayo: What Americans Should Know About The Mexican Holiday


Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. In fact, the Cry of Delores is the real Mexican Independence Day that’s celebrated on September 16, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Sadly, there’s a lot that Americans don’t know about this holiday.

May 5th or “Cinco de Mayo” celebrates the day that Mexicans defeated Napolean’s army in the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. However, the war still lasted from 1861 to 1867, according to the report. Mexican Americans use this exact date to celebrate their culture in the United States. Cinco de Mayo is not celebrated over in the mainland of Mexico. Over the years, it’s become a day where every American celebrates it, regardless if they’re Mexican or not.

Americans should know that it’s offensive and inappropriate to celebrate Cinco de Mayo while wearing a colorful poncho and a large sombrero. Some take it even further by inhaling copious amounts of fajitas, tacos, tequila, and beer.

Nylon unveiled a line of T-Shirts and tank tops that stereotype Mexicans. The shirts include phrases like “Tequila Helps” and “Cinco De Mayo.” After receiving some much-needed outrage from Latin media site Remezcla.com, Nylon’s CEO, Paul Greenberg, decided to remove the merchandise.

“We are very sorry and regret that we misjudged how these items would be perceived. This is a first for us, as we have never received this kind of reaction before to any of our products. We will no longer sell these items.”

Cinco De Mayo is mostly celebrated in the West and Southwest but not always. CNN reported that the biggest festivals in the U.S. also take place in Chicago (200,000 partygoers), Denver (400,000), Portland (300,000), and St. Paul (25,000). The holiday also has a special Texas connection. The senate declared Goliad as the official city to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Goliad was also the place where leader Ignacio Zaragoza was born. Thanks to him, his small Mexican army was able to defeat the much larger French continent.

San Jose already celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the Santa Clara fairgrounds on Sunday, May 3. The festival included folklore performers who did traditional dances that are native to the five different regions of Mexico, according to San Jose Mercury News. The music and dances were accompanied by traditional Mexican food, a clown comedy act, and other loud performances. This Cinco de Mayo celebrating isn’t attracting as many people since only 10,000 attended this year, which is down from 15,000 from a few years ago.

So don’t chug down beers on Cinco de Mayo this year. Instead, think fondly of your neighbors to the south of you. Of course, that won’t stop some from doing insensitive things like getting a free biscuit taco at Taco Bell.

[Image: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for American Media]

Share this article: Cinco De Mayo: What Americans Should Know About The Mexican Holiday
More from Inquisitr