Cino de Mayo, also known as the 5th of May, is celebrated each year with food, fun, and most imporantly, drinks! What we do know about this Mexican holiday is that tequila is consumed by the gallons, partying after work is a must, and it's not Cinco de Mayo until you have at least one margartia and taco. But, here are some facts you might not know about this big (but somewhat small) holiday.
Although Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico, it is widely celebrated in the United States. Cinco de Mayo is more of a celebration of Mexican culture -- in the United States, those of Mexican decent celebrate with a festival or party. The only major celebration of Cinco de Mayo happens in the village of Puebla (100 miles east of Mexico city) where the Batalla de Puebla took place -- which helped unify Mexico. Cinco de Mayo didn't really become popular until the late '60s and early '70s.
The largest festival in the United States for Cinco de Mayo is in Los Angeles, where more than 600,000 people celebrate by drinking, eating, and dancing. The festival is called Festival de Fiesta Broadway. Two other big festivals happen in Denver, Colorado and St. Paul's, Minnesota.
Cinco de Mayo is just one of 365 festivals celebrated by the people of Mexican decent. 365 festivals, 365 days in a year, a celebration every day...sounds good to us!
Cinco de Mayo is often confused with Mexican Independence Day. Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16th -- it was the day that declared its independence from Spanish rule. Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of the 1862 Batalla de Puebla.
Worldwide, the sales of Mexican beer, tequila, and Mexican food are at their yearly peak around Cinco de Mayo. Let's face it, you can't go the day without having at least one shot of tequila and a taco, right?
So, how are you going to celebrate your Cinco de Mayo this year?
