Feliz Cinco de Mayo, everyone!
Today is May 5th and before you take a sip of your first margarita to start celebrating the holiday, we hope you’ll take a moment to ask yourself whether you actually know the historical significance of the date.
Many people mistakenly think that today is Mexican Independence Day. Actually, today honors the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This battle took place during the French-American war. In this battle, the Mexican army was vastly outnumbered–2,000 Mexican troops took on 6,000 French soldiers. The bloody battle lasted from the break of dawn through the evening. When 500 French soldiers had been killed while only 100 Mexican soldiers were downed, the French withdrew and retreated. The Battle of Puebla sparked a series of battles that eventually led to the French completely evacuating from Mexico six years later.
For your information, Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16th and marks Mexico’s independence from Spain.
So now you know if you didn’t already. Have fun celebrating, be safe, and do good things in the world.