Battle of Puebla commemoration
Cinco de Mayo remembers the Battle of Puebla of 5 May 1862, when Mexican forces held off a French army. It is a regional and civic anniversary in Mexico, and a larger cultural celebration in the United States.
Photo: Diego Corona / Unsplash
5 May, the date of the battle in 1862
Strongest in the city and state of Puebla, and in Mexican American communities across the United States
Civic ceremonies and parades, battle reenactments, community festivals, Mexican food and music
Feliz Cinco de Mayo (Spanish, used mainly in the United States)
In 1861 Mexico’s government under President Benito Juárez suspended payments on foreign debts after years of civil conflict. Britain, Spain and France sent forces to the coast, and after negotiations the British and Spanish withdrew. France, led by Napoleon III, stayed and marched inland with the aim of installing a friendly government.
On 5 May 1862, outside the city of Puebla, a smaller and poorly supplied Mexican army commanded by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the advancing French troops, whose army was among the best in the world. The victory was largely symbolic: the French regrouped, took Puebla in 1863 and went on to Mexico City, where Maximilian of Habsburg was installed as emperor in 1864. Mexican resistance continued, and the republic was restored in 1867. The date endures as a memory of defending sovereignty against heavy odds.
In Puebla the day is a major civic occasion. Officials lay wreaths, a large military and civic parade crosses the city, and volunteers reenact the battle near the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe where it was fought. The historic centre of Puebla is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and many families join the parade or visit museums that day.
Elsewhere in Mexico it is mainly a civic anniversary with official ceremonies. It is not one of the mandatory rest days in Mexico’s Federal Labour Law, so most workplaces stay open. It is not a day of national partying either, which often surprises visitors who know the date from the United States.
The celebration in the United States has its own history. Mexican Americans in California marked the victory in the 1860s as support for Mexico’s republic during the same years as the American Civil War, and the day later grew through community groups, civil rights activism and, from the late twentieth century, commercial promotion. Today parades and festivals take place in cities such as Los Angeles, Denver, Houston and Chicago.
Puebla’s cuisine is the natural reference: mole poblano, a sauce of chiles, spices and chocolate served over turkey or chicken, cemitas, sandwiches on sesame rolls, and camote, a candied sweet potato. Talavera ceramics, with their blue-and-white patterns, are a symbol of the region and are recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage. Military bands, folk dances and the colours of the flag are part of the civic ceremonies.
Find Puebla on a map and follow the story of the battle in a book or museum guide. Cook a Pueblan dish, buy mole from a Mexican market or restaurant, or sketch a blue-and-white talavera pattern. Listen to Mexican regional music and ask a friend what the date means in their family.
Coming soon to the App Store.
Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. Independence is celebrated on 16 September, with the Grito on the night of 15 September, and it commemorates the call for independence from Spain in 1810. If you attend an event, learn the history first and credit it correctly.
Join respectfully. Skip costumes, fake moustaches and oversized sombreros, which turn a culture into a costume, and avoid treating the day as a drinking contest. Instead, support Mexican-owned restaurants and artists, attend events organised by Mexican and Mexican American communities, and listen to their stories. If a colleague invites you, accept with curiosity, ask what the day means to them, and be ready to learn that opinions differ.
Related: El Grito and Mexican Independence Day · Día de Muertos
No. Mexico celebrates independence on 16 September. Cinco de Mayo marks the Battle of Puebla, fought on 5 May 1862 against French forces.
Not a statutory one. It is not among the mandatory rest days in Mexico’s Federal Labour Law (article 74), so most workplaces stay open. Puebla marks it with a large civic parade.
Mexican American communities adopted and carried the commemoration from the 1860s, and it later became a wider celebration of Mexican heritage and culture.
