What is Cinco de Mayo?
Reyna Gonzalez shows off the costume of her state, Merida Yucatén, Mexico. The set, which includes the blouse, skirt and shawl as well as the rosary, is called "terno." In Mexico, on holidays people gather to dance wearing the costumes from their particular states. KAREN CIMMS/TIMES NEWS
A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
It isn't. It's actually a celebration of a much smaller victory that occurred 52 years after the Mexicans first declared independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810.
On May 5, 1862, or Cinco de Mayo, 6,000 French troops under the command of Gen. Charles Ferdinand Latrille, set out to attack the city of Puebla de los Ángeles.
Mexican President Benito Juarez rounded up 2,000 citizens to face Latrille and his army.
Led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza, the Mexicans fortified the town and prepared for battle.
When it was over, the French had lost nearly 500 soldiers, while the Mexicans had lost fewer than 100.
The battle of Cinco de Mayo, while small, strengthened the Mexican resistance against the French. Six years later, the French withdrew. Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed as emperor of Mexico in 1864 by Napoleon III, was captured and executed.
Today Mexicans celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla as Cinco de Mayo. Although it's a national holiday, schools are not closed. Instead, children learn about the meaning of the day, enjoy parades, and remember the soldiers who died that day defending their homeland.
