What is the origin of 5 de Mayo?

Yes, it was the battle of Puebla, but why is it more widely celebrated in the US than in Mexico, and why is it more important than Mexican Independence Day? This is what historians have to say.

Photo by Mayra Martell

The battle of Puebla took place on the fifth of May in 1862. The Mexican army, an underdog, battled a much larger and more powerful French military. ,  . General Ignacio Zaragoza was the commander in charge of the Mexican soldiers; they won against all odds.

Zaragoza died that same year, infected by a  of flea-borne typhus, only four months after his army defeated the French. He was 33 years old.

Five years later, in 1867, a group of Mexicans celebrated that victory in Texas the place where Zaragoza was born, sixteen years before it was annexed by the United States. For that reason, the celebration became a symbol for Mexicans facing oppression from foreign invaders or governments and gained popularity among those who lived in Texas and other former Mexican territories.

Other Latin migrants joined the celebration and it increased even more in popularity. In 1930, the Mexican Consulate located in Los Angeles celebrated 5 de Mayo in  a formal way, and gave the date an “official” seal, an  event united Mexicans in the US and  other recently arrived immigrants. 

Since then, 5 de Mayo has become a cultural festival that celebrates both Mexican and Latin heritage in the US. That is why it has been more popular than Mexican Independence Day;  it both unites cultures and breaks frontiers.

Zaragoza, the icon.

Ignacio Zaragoza was short and wore glasses but was a natural leader;  he was called the frontier chinaco. A “chinaco” was a brown skinned liberal rebel who fought for the people against those in power, the church and the “catrines” (wealthy people). The chinacos were considered brave, and that became the name given to all soldiers that fought the French in the Battle of Puebla.

So, “Feliz 5 de Mayo!”

Sources: México a través del tiempo, Editorial Cumbre S.A.

Fronteras Fragmentadas, Centro de Investigaciones y Desarrollo del Estado de Michoacán, 2009