This year’s May 5 celebration—Cinco de Mayo—marks the 150th anniversary of Mexico’s Battle of Puebla, as is a major holiday for Mexicans in the United States.
In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is mainly celebrated in the Puebla region, but much like St. Patrick’s Day for the Irish, it is an ethnic-heritage partying celebration outside of its native country.
Drinking certainly plays a role in the festivities. Wine company Constellation Brands, and U.S. distributor Crown Imports, are set to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, May 4, to kick off the weekend. “Cinco de Mayo kicks off the key summer selling season for Crown, and we are very excited to start the party by ringing the closing bell at the NYSE,” said Constellation’s CFO Bob Ryder, in a press release.
According to the organizers, the invitation to celebrate is open to all. “This parade is not exclusively for Mexicans. Although it is crucial for them, every single person is welcome,” said a statement on the Asociación Tepeyac de New York website.
The annual Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Cinco de Mayo festival will be held a week later on May 13, joined to Mother’s Day.
On May 5, 1862, Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin led his mostly ill-equipped Mexican Army of 4,500 to victory over a superior army of 6,000 seasoned French soldiers. The defeat stemmed the advance and forced the French to withdraw from the area. The victory was short-lived, as France eventually sent more troops and occupied the country.
Emperor Napoleon of France installed his relative Archduke Maximilian of Austria as emperor of Mexico only a year after the battle, but his rule did not last long. After the Civil War, the United States provided assistance to Mexico, which expelled the French and overthrew Maximilian in 1867, according to the Legacies Project of the New York State Archives.
Its evolution into a celebration of Hispanic heritage came later.
