Cinco de Mayo is May 5, 2025. Here's what to know about the history of the holiday.
Cinco de Mayo has become a day to celebrate Mexican heritage, especially in the United States, but before Cinco de Mayo became associated with tacos and margaritas, the day served as a reminder of Mexico's triumph over the French.
Here's what to know about the holiday.
When is Cinco de Mayo 2025?
Cinco de Mayo falls on Monday, May 5, 2025.
What is Cinco de Mayo?
Celebrated annually, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's victory over the Second French Empire, led by Napoleon III, at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, hence the name. The holiday is celebrated across the U.S. and in parts of Mexico, particularly in the City of Puebla, where the epic battle took place.
Story continues after photo gallery.
How do people celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Americans, including people of Mexican American heritage, along with our neighbors in Mexico, celebrate with parades, festivals, music and food.
While Cinco de Mayo honors Mexico's resilience and bravery in the face of strife, the holiday has also become, for some, an excuse to party.
"Everyone thinks that it's just party time, it's Corona time," Mario García, a Chicanx historian from the University of California at Santa Barbara, shared in a May 2023 interview with USA TODAY.
"It's OK for people to go out and have a good time on a holiday like Cinco de Mayo -- at least they have some sense that it's some kind of a Mexican holiday," García said. "But we should go beyond that. We should have Cinco de Mayo events that go beyond partying and drinking, where we call attention to what the history is."
Why is Cinco de Mayo often confused with Mexico's Independence Day?
Though many might know the lore behind Cinco de Mayo, it is often confused with Mexico's Independence Day, which falls on Sept. 16. It is known as the Día de la Independencia in Mexico.
Part of the confusion about what Cinco de Mayo celebrates likely stems from the names of the two holidays, which might be harder for some English speakers to say. Cinco de Mayo is much catchier than the day of Mexico's independence (Diez y seis de Septiembre), García said.
Another issue is that not enough American schools teach the importance of Chicanx history and its peoples' contributions to the U.S.
"When you study the history of Chicanos and Latinos, of course, they've been history makers," García said. "They've been involved in all aspects of American history, not to mention the wars ... In World War II alone, almost half a million Latinos – mostly Mexican Americans – fought in the war. And they won a disproportionate number of congressional Medals of Honor."
The Battle at Puebla also occurred more than 50 years after the country broke free of Spanish rule. The reason the battle happened in the first place was because French Emperor Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte wanted to claim Mexico for himself.
The French sent troops to force President Benito Juárez and the government out of Veracruz, Mexico.
An outnumbered band of Mexican soldiers faced 6,000 French troops at daybreak in Puebla, a city in east-central Mexico, on May 5, 1862. Mexico, miraculously, was able to claim victory by the evening, at which time Juárez declared May 5 a national holiday.
The victory also helped prevent the French from settling in and helping the American Confederacy in the Civil War, according to History.com.
Why is Cinco de Mayo more popular in the U.S. than in Mexico?
Cinco de Mayo celebrations do occur in Mexico, most notably in the City of Puebla; those events don't compare to Día de la Independencia celebrations, García said. Meanwhile, in the U.S, it's become an annual celebration of Mexican American culture.
It began as a form of resistance to the effects of the Mexican-American War in the late 19th century. The holiday gained popularity during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
"It becomes a Chicano holiday, in many ways, linked to the Chicano movement, because we discover Mexicans resisting a foreign invader," García said. "They link the struggle of the Chicano movement to Cinco de Mayo."
Companies, especially beer companies and restaurants, began commercializing the holiday in the 1980s, offering customers "Cinco de Mayo" specials and cocktails.
The holiday is now known to some as Cinco de Drinko, and to García as "Corona Day." This Cinco de Mayo, García hopes everyone enjoys their Coronas, but perhaps with a little history lesson to wash it down.
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