Cinco de Mayo draws revelers

Everyone loves a party, and the celebration of Cinco de Mayo has captured the imaginations of Americans if not all of Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza won a dramatic victory over Napoleon III’s French Army. The forces of Napoleon III foolishly marched 6,000 soldiers from the coast toward Mexico City. The route took them to the city of Puebla de Zaragoza, where the French general ordered a direct assault up a steep hill. But the Mexican army had fortified the hill with a ditch and brick wall, and with a force of just 2,000 soldiers, killed 1,000 French soldiers and forced the surviving French troops to retreat. The French returned in 1863 and took Puebla, but in 1867, the Mexican army retook the city and ended European domination of Mexico.

The battles were historically significant, but Cinco de Mayo is mainly celebrated in the state of Puebla today.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Cinco de Mayo is usually expanded to two days and may include parties, parades, and plenty of decorated bars.