Cinco de Mayo Not Mexican Independence Day

Cinco de Mayo Not Mexican Independence Day: This week is “Cinco de Mayo”, the most Americans think that it is Mexican Independence Day. But it's not. It's the anniversary of the victory of the Republican forces over the French in 1862.



It is actually a Mexican-American holiday, which was for some reason very popular in California and over the years has become the official Mexican cultural day. After all, the French and their puppet emperor Max weren't thrown out for another five years. It might have behooved the Latinos to have picked another day to party, such as the real anniversary of Mexican independence. No one is exactly sure when exactly Mexico became independent.

This year, the government of Mexico is celebrating the country's bicentennial, but the date they picked, while historically significant, isn't the anniversary of independence or even the beginnings of the war of independence.

This time out, presidents cannot run for reelection, so the double anniversaries won't probably lead to another revolution, and thus it's all good. Meanwhile, Cinco de Mayo, the semi-bogus national day of Latinos everywhere, is as good a day as any to party.