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BarkellWH -> Cinco de Mayo Madness! (Apr. 30 2014 16:34:14)
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I have been in Arizona for the past two weeks house-hunting for an anchor home in both the Scottsdale-Tempe area and in Tucson. Already I have noticed a build-up to the annual madness celebrated in the United States known as Cinco de Mayo. But this frenzy of advertising for 16 oz. margaritas and perceived celebration of things Mexican is not limited to border states like Arizona. Sports bars, pubs, and restaurants catering to university students, 30-something professionals, and others all over the U.S., including Washington, DC where I live, are preparing to celebrate the "holiday." Many, probably a significant majority, think Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. Just as many may not have the slightest idea what it commemorates but are convinced it is a major Mexican holiday imported into the U.S. It is neither. It is actually a faux U.S. holiday.
Cinco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico, officially celebrated only in the state of Puebla. It commemorates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, in which a ragtag band of some 3,000 Mexican troops and militia (the exact number is uncertain), commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza, was sent by President Benito Juarez to defend the city of Puebla against a much larger French force of some 6,000 to 7,000 troops under General Charles de Latrille de Lorencez. The Mexicans fortified the town and defeated the French force.
In 1861, Mexico was in financial ruin and had defaulted on debts to Britain, Spain, and France. All three sent forces to Vera Cruz. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, under Napoleon III, decided to press its advantage and carve out an Empire on Mexican territory, sending a fleet and troops to invade Mexico in late 1861. The timing was opportune, as the United States was engaged in the Civil War and was not in a position to simultaneously take on both the Confederacy and the French in Mexico in support of the Monroe Doctrine. The defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla was a minor tactical victory but a major symbolic triumph. Nevertheless, Napoleon III sent more troops and in 1864 installed Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (accompanied by his wife Carlota) as Emperor of Mexico. After the U.S. Civil War ended with a defeated Confederacy, the U.S. assisted Mexico against the French, with the French withdrawing in 1866. The hapless Maximilian was caught and executed by firing squad in 1867. The lovely Carlota was in Europe at the time trying to drum up support for Maximilian and thus escaped a similar fate. (I have always thought the story of Maximilian and Carlota in Mexico would have made a great Gilbert and Sullivan light operetta.)
Mexican Independence is celebrated on September 16th, the anniversary of the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's "Grito de Dolores" in 1810, in the town of Dolores, the "pronunciamiento" proclaiming independence from Spain, which was finally achieved in 1821.
So on Cinco de Mayo, drink those 16 oz. margaritas and watch celebrants dance on the bar wearing Mexican sombreros. And if you happen to have your guitar with you, play a few flamenco riffs, and the crowd will go wild hearing "Mexican" music. You might even see someone of a certain vintage raising his glass and shouting "Viva Zapata," not having the slightest idea who Emiliano Zapata was, but vaguely remembering the film starring Marlin Brando as Zapata. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Cheers,
Bill
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