ObservanceWednesday, May 5, 2027
Cinco de Mayo
- Date
- Recurs
- Every year on May 5
- Category
- Celebration
Cinco de Mayo marks a single day's fighting: on May 5, 1862, a Mexican army stopped an elite French force at Puebla, a city about 80 miles southeast of Mexico City. It is not Mexican Independence Day, which falls on September 16, and it is observed far more widely in the United States than in Mexico. The American holiday was built in California by Mexican Americans within a year of the battle, and reinvented more than a century later by beer companies.
History
In 1861, with the country in financial ruin after two years of civil war, President Benito Juárez suspended payment of Mexico's foreign debts to the United Kingdom, Spain and France. All three sent warships to seize payment, landing at Veracruz; Britain and Spain soon settled and withdrew. France, under Napoleon III, meant to conquer the nation and install a pro-French monarchy.
On May 5, 1862, the French column advancing on Mexico City was stopped at Puebla, about 80 miles southeast of the capital. The Library of Congress credits the Texas-born general Ignacio Zaragoza, who, "working with a ragtag army," defeated a stronger force; PBS SoCal puts the French at 6,000 troops. The French fell back to await reinforcements, which took nearly a year, and that delay was the whole of the victory in military terms. Reinforced, they took Puebla on May 17, 1863, then Mexico City, and the government they installed lasted until 1867.
What makes the day American is what happened next in California, where Latinos were strong Union supporters who had helped finance Juárez's army. According to David Hayes-Bautista, director of UCLA's Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, the first commemorations were held in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1863, with parades, speakers and music, and California has held them every year since. Supporters organized into Juntas Patrióticas Mejicanas, which met monthly and sent money to Juárez; there were eventually 129, mostly in California. When Puebla fell the men's juntas lost momentum, and it was Francisca Manso de Cavazos, a Mexican immigrant in Los Angeles, who called a meeting of about 100 women and founded the Junta Patriótica de Señoras Mejicanas de Los Ángeles. The men's groups started up again after the women's did.
The drinking holiday is recent and traceable. Writing for TIME and Zócalo Public Square, José M. Alamillo, professor of Chicano studies at California State University Channel Islands, dates the corporate push to the 1980s, when marketers noticed the growth of the Latino population: "Beer and alcohol companies led the charge by spending millions on marketing the holiday." Corona Extra alone spent $91 million advertising around the day in 2013, according to Kantar Media. Marketplace reported Nielsen figures showing Americans bought more than $600 million worth of beer for Cinco de Mayo in a single year, more than was sold for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick's Day.
Timeline
- 1861 — Juárez suspends payment of Mexico's foreign debts; Britain, Spain and France send warships to Veracruz. Britain and Spain settle and withdraw.
- May 5, 1862 — Ignacio Zaragoza's army stops the French advance at Puebla. The French fall back to await reinforcements, which take nearly a year.
- 1863 — The first Cinco de Mayo commemorations in the United States are held in Los Angeles and San Francisco, with parades, speakers and music.
- May 17, 1863 — Reinforced French forces take Puebla; Mexico City follows.
- 1867 — The French-installed government is overthrown.
- 1980s — Corporate marketing, led by beer and alcohol companies, begins turning May 5 into a national drinking occasion.
How to observe
Read the day as it was first reported. The Library of Congress's Chronicling America archive holds the papers that carried these celebrations while they were news, including an 1870 wire item that reads, in full: "The Mexicans are celebrating the anniversary of the defeat of the French at Puebla, by salutes, to-day."
Find a celebration with civic roots rather than a drink special. Corona, California has held one since 1923, built around the lemon harvest; a 1939 Los Angeles Times report noted that "all work in the citrus industry was suspended for the Cinco de Mayo holiday." It carries no alcohol sponsorship.
And correct the record out loud: the day commemorates a battle against a French invasion, not Mexican independence, which is September 16.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexican Independence Day?
No, and this is the most common error about it. The Library of Congress states it plainly: Cinco de Mayo "is not a celebration of Mexican independence, as is often assumed in the U.S." Mexican Independence Day is September 16.
Is Cinco de Mayo a federal holiday?
No. The 11 legal public holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) do not include it, and federal offices, banks and post offices operate normally.
Where did American Cinco de Mayo celebrations begin?
In California, in 1863, organized by Mexican Americans who backed the Union. The earliest surviving description of such a celebration is a June 7, 1862 report from Columbia, California; the Library of Congress, drawing on its own newspaper holdings, dates the earliest to 1866.
Is Cinco de Mayo celebrated in Mexico?
Barely. The California Latino Legislative Caucus describes the day as "scarcely observed in Mexico" while being widely celebrated in California and across the United States.
Why is the day so tied to beer?
Because of a deliberate campaign. Alamillo dates the corporate push to the 1980s and credits beer and alcohol companies with leading it; Corona Extra's advertising around the holiday came to $91 million in 2013 alone.
When is Cinco de Mayo?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | May 5 | Wednesday |
| 2028 | May 5 | Friday |
| 2029 | May 5 | Saturday |
| 2030 | May 5 | Sunday |
| 2031 | May 5 | Monday |
Sources
- Library of Congress, The Roots of Cinco de Mayo: The Battle of Puebla — https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2022/05/the-roots-of-cinco-de-mayo-the-battle-of-puebla/ → Juárez's 1861 debt suspension and the three nations' warships at Veracruz; Britain and Spain withdrawing; Napoleon III's plan for a pro-French monarchy; the May 5, 1862 battle at Puebla, 80 miles southeast of Mexico City; Ignacio Zaragoza as Texas-born and the "ragtag army" quotation; the French awaiting reinforcements for nearly a year; the French-installed government lasting until 1867; California Latinos as Union supporters who helped finance Juárez's army; the 1866 Virginia City celebration in the Gold Hill Daily News and the 1870 wire item; Chronicling America; Cinco de Mayo not being Mexican independence, which is September 16.
- PBS SoCal, Cinco de Mayo's California Origins and Meaning — https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/lost-la/how-cinco-de-mayo-got-its-start-because-of-californias-mexican-americans → 6,000 French troops at Puebla; the first commemorations in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1863 and California's unbroken run since; the Juntas Patrióticas Mejicanas, their monthly meetings and fundraising, and the figure of 129; the French taking Puebla on May 17, 1863 and then Mexico City; Francisca Manso de Cavazos, the meeting of about 100 women and the Junta Patriótica de Señoras Mejicanas de Los Ángeles; the men's groups restarting afterward; the June 7, 1862 publication carrying the first known description of a Cinco de Mayo celebration, from Columbia; Hayes-Bautista's UCLA center.
- TIME / Zócalo Public Square, When Life Hands You Lemons, Make Cinco de Mayo, by José M. Alamillo — https://time.com/3840249/cinco-de-mayo-citrus-crop/ → the 1980s corporate push and the recognition of Latino population growth; "Beer and alcohol companies led the charge by spending millions on marketing the holiday"; Corona Extra's $91 million 2013 advertising spend per Kantar Media and the "original party beer" slogan; Corona, California's celebration since 1923 and its lack of alcohol sponsorship; the 1939 Los Angeles Times citrus-industry quotation; Alamillo's position at California State University Channel Islands.
- Marketplace, American Public Media, The history of the marketing of Cinco de Mayo — https://www.marketplace.org/story/2014/05/02/history-marketing-cinco-de-mayo → the Nielsen figure of more than $600 million of beer bought for Cinco de Mayo in one year, exceeding the Super Bowl and St. Patrick's Day.
- California Latino Legislative Caucus, Speaker Series: Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista, El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition — https://latinocaucus.legislature.ca.gov/speaker-series-dr-david-e-hayes-bautista-el-cinco-de-mayo-american-tradition → the day being "scarcely observed in Mexico" while widely celebrated in California and the United States; the holiday described as created by Latinos in California in the mid-nineteenth century.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, United States Code, 2023 Edition, 5 U.S.C. 6103 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title5/html/USCODE-2023-title5-partIII-subpartE-chap61-subchapI-sec6103.htm → the 11 legal public holidays, which do not include Cinco de Mayo.
Source conflict reported rather than resolved by averaging: the earliest American celebration. The Library of Congress dates the earliest to 1866 from its own newspaper holdings; PBS SoCal reproduces a June 7, 1862 Spanish-language report of a celebration in Columbia, California. Both are given above, with the 1862 document treated as the more primary evidence.
Omitted for want of an acceptable source: the name of the French commander at Puebla and any troop figure for the Mexican side; and the claim, made in the TIME/Zócalo essay, that in 2005 Congress passed a resolution "making Cinco de Mayo an official national holiday" — a resolution does not create a legal public holiday under 5 U.S.C. 6103, and no primary text for the resolution was reachable, so it is not asserted here.
Not used as sources: nationaltoday, nationaldaycalendar, checkiday, timeanddate, and comparable aggregator and content-farm pages.
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