Contrary to legend, Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) is not Mexican Independence Day. It’s really not an official holiday but it is treated as such in all of Mexico and many parts of the United States. Cinco de Mayo is a time to party! A time to celebrate! Is Cinco de Mayo just an excuse to travel to Margaritaville or is there a basis for its celebration?

Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the 15th of September, 1810. But it took 11 years of bloody struggle before the first Spanish soldiers were forced to leave Mexico. This began a very difficult period in history for Mexico.

In the 1830’s there was the Texas war for Independence, which Mexico lost. Then, in the 1840’s came the Mexican-American War, which Mexico lost. This was followed by the Mexican Civil War of 1858 and no one wins a Civil War!

So, why Cinco de Mayo? What’s so special about this day? Well, in the 1860’s, while America was embroiled in her own Civil War, Emperor Napoleon III, of France, who detested the United States, decided this would be a good time to invade Mexico and take it over! Thus placing a portion of the great French army just across the Rio Grande from the hated Americans.

They sent a pompous Hapsburg prince across the Atlantic to rule their new Mexican empire. His name was Maximilian and his wife was named Carolota. Napoleon's French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was involved in its own Civil War.

The French Army captured the port of Vera Cruz and then marched to attack Mexico City far to the west. The French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy, as European countries traditionally did.

Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans waited. Brightly dressed French Dragoons led the enemy columns. The Mexican Army was less stylish, dressed in whatever they could find to wear at the time.

General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, perhaps the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a very stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase down Diaz and his men, who turned and ambushed them. The French Cavalry was defeated and routed! The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders over a wet muddy field and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle, which had been stirred up by Mexican Indians, armed only with machetes.

When the battle was over, many of the soldiers in the glorious French army were killed or wounded. Their cavalry was being chased by Diaz' superb horsemen many miles away. The 4,000 Mexicans in this tiny army had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from gaining a foothold in America and perhaps supplying the Confederate rebels (who he was sympathetic to). This allowed the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the Battle of Pueblo, essentially giving the Union an upper hand in the Civil War.

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States during the Civil War to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows?

Mexicans, you see, never forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That's why Cinco de Mayo is such a party! This party celebrates freedom and liberty. These are two ideals, which Mexicans fought for at the Battle of Pueblo on May 5th, 1862.

VIVA EL CINCO DE MAYO!!

So in order to get ready for that fiesta, we need lots of piñatas, some short, salt-rimmed glasses filled with frosty margaritas, baskets overflowing with chips and salsa and lots of tall, ice cold bottles of Mexican Beer! Add in some sombreros, mariachis, maracas, jalapeño peppers and you wonder why nothing gets done on Cinco de Mayo! Party on Dude!

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