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If you’re like me, you probably think of Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) as a Mexican fiesta, some of my other over-informed counterparts think of it as the Mexican independence day though. A jolly season nonetheless. It is the time when turkeys get the thanksgiving vibe only to realized it’d take another six months before they’re swung back into the spotlight by the American consumerism. Needless to say, it is neither the Mexican thanksgiving.

Cinco de Mayo is actually no less than the commemoration of victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862… Whatever that means.

In reality though, as much credit we give Mexicans for this holiday, the Cinco de Mayo celebration actually started in California to oppose an impending French acquisition in the mid 1800’s.

Source According to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in California in the 1860s in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. The paper notes that “The holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico.

Take that line - virtually ignored in Mexico - and then wonder how the whole country gets to be engrossed with jalapenos, swirling mustaches and over-grown hats (with lots of triangles on the side) on this day. The modern view of Cinco de Mayo has become more about celebrating Mexican pride.

But tied with the pride issue is another misconception, a less honorable one. With regards to America’s problem with immigration policy and border security, as it is a day marked by protests around the country, Cinco de Mayo is also sometimes perceived to be the Mexican Labor Day.

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