May 5 - Cinco de Mayo

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day. Nope. That's September 16th. Nor is it a popular holiday in Mexico. It is most widely celebrated in America.

And here in the US, Cinco de Mayo is a lot like St. Patrick's Day. More of a celebration of the culture, than of any significance the day itself holds. Most often, a drinking holiday.

The 5th of May came about like this: during the Mexican-American War, Mexico garnered a huge amount of debt. Benito Juarez wanted to delay paying off some debt for a while, to resume after two years. The French, English and Spanish didn't like this; they wanted their money. So they sent their troops to Mexico. The English and Spanish struck a deal with Mexico but France said, "No way." Thems fightin words. So they fought and Mexico's ragtag army surprisingly won. On the 5th of May, 1862.

My information came from the following sites (but don't accuse them if I am wrong - I'll take the blame):
Viva Cinco de Mayo
Mexonline
CLnet
National Geographic


Today is also:
Melanoma Monday
Totally Chipotle Day