Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

The Battle of Puebla

Although Cinco de Mayo is often just a good day for tacos y cervezas for many of us, I was surprised to learn recently that the holiday has a tie to the Civil War that I hadn't heard about before.

The holiday was first celebrated in Los Angeles in 1862 to commemorate the victory by Mexico over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The celebrations carried as far north as the mining town of Columbia, where Mexican miners made speeches, shot off fireworks and and sang patriotic songs.

By defeating the French forces, the Mexican army helped keep France from providing supplies and assistance to the Confederacy. Although much of southern California leaned toward the southern point of view before the war, Los Angeles was pro-Union, which gave the residents a reason to celebrate 150 years ago.

Despite its widespread popularity in the western U.S., Cinco de Mayo is, at best, a regional holiday in Mexico. It does not commemorate Mexican Independence Day: that holiday is observed nationally in Mexico on September 16.