Cinco de Mayo

It's funny – when I first moved here and the month of May approached, I expected a grand celebration. I mean – they celebrate just about everything and really barely need an excuse for a fiesta, so having experienced Cinco de Mayo celebrations at my son's bilingual school in Canada and having heard of it elsewhere, I was expecting a big deal.

You would expect even further celebrations in Veracruz as this is where the invasion started that made cinco de mayo famous. In 1861, Mexico had financial trouble after a war with the US, and its own civil war. Now France, Spain and Britain wanted to collect on the debts that Mexico had borrowed. The president at the time, Benito Juarez, negotiated a deal with Britain and Spain, but Napoleon III of France had dreams of a second empire here on the American continent. With the US busy with their own civil war, Napoleon thought he could easily conquer war-torn Mexico. Many speculated that his next move was to help the confederate army to break up the American Union. So Napoleon III sent in 8 000 troops to Veracruz and managed to get Benito Juarez and his troops numbering half that of the French, to retreat to a place called Puebla – about 2/3 the way to Mexico City. Now the miracle occurs and why all the big deal – The Mexican army took a stand and despite the lack of numbers and equipment, they held their ground and chased the French army back.

The significance of this victory was far more important for the moral of the Mexican army than a strategic win, but it is believed that without that victory, Napoleon III could very well have changed the outcome of the American civil war. The small struggling Mexican army defeated the best army in the world – the French hadn't been defeated in 50 years. Certainly cause to celebrate.

Now, with all that background, you would indeed expect a big fiesta. Well, apparently, it is not quite as big a deal as I had expected. Sure, the day is recognized, but not an official holiday. The state of Puebla does celebrate this occasion more than the rest of the country – but really the US (and Canada) has taken this day to recognize the Mexican influence on its culture. Much like St. Patrick's day celebrates the Irish influence. Whether you have Mexican ancestry or not, it is a great opportunity to explore, celebrate and enjoy another cultre. So if you are planning to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in your school or neighborhood – have a great time – just know that for your neighbors south of the border, won't be celebrating quite as big as you. Independence Day for Mexico is Sept. 15^th – and that is where the real party happens. Everything is closed (well, banks, offices, gov't anyway) and you can expect fireworks, dancing, a lot of music and food.