Original Cinco De Mayo in Mexico is a Serious Observation, Not a Big Party Bernd Debusmann Jr. - Fox News Latino
go to original May 4, 2013

As millions of Americans head to Cinco de Mayo parties throughout the United States this weekend, the Fifth of May barely registers south of the border and it remains something of a mystery how the anniversary of an 1862 battle in Mexico turned into a celebration of all things Latino in the U.S.

The battle marked a turning point in Mexico’s fight against French forces who invaded the country after President Benito Juarez suspended interest payments to foreign creditors, chiefly France and Britain. The battle, in the state of Puebla, paved the way to the withdrawal of French forces four years later. Emperor Maximilian, installed by the French as the leader of the “Second Mexican Empire,” was executed in 1867.

Little or any of this is reflected in the Cinco de Mayo parties in the United States. For college students in particular, the day often features large quantities of beer, tequila and sombreros.

In Mexico, it is commemorated every year with a military parade in the colonial city of Puebla, 70 miles southeast of Mexico City. This weekend, President Enrique Peña Nieto will preside over celebrations involving 13,000 troops, battle re-enactors, local residents and an Air Force flyover.

Elsewhere in the country, it is barely noticed.

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