# Cinco de Mayo in the USA & Elsewhere **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 5, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520 "2006-05-05T12:24:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MizGrand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cdc98d/32.png) [@MizGrand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizGrand)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/1 "2006-05-05T12:24:53Z")
Today is the 5th of May, or Mexican Independence Day. Why has celebrating this day become ingrained in the culture of the US and other countries? I’m thinking that if I up and moved to say, Canada, that the 4th of July wouldn’t hold any importance to me any longer. I don’t really celebrate it here. Why do countries celebrate _other countries_ Independence Days? Why do we care? Frankly, I couldn’t care less about Cinco de Mayo and think it’s ridiculous to celebrate the independence of one’s home country while living in another. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/2 "2006-05-05T12:32:48Z")
IIRC, Cinco de Mayo is mostly a hispanic-American holiday, and is not widely celebrated in Mexico. It’s not Mexican Independence Day - it’s the day the Mexican Army defeated the French in 1862. Googling “Cinco de Mayo” gives you more info than you ever wanted to know about Cinco de Mayo. Me? I just find it a good excuse to drink Margaritas and make Mexican food. Woo-woo! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/3 "2006-05-05T12:47:11Z")
I thought it was a holiday created by Corona and morning DJ’s. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/4 "2006-05-05T13:06:11Z")
The Mexican mafia (about six of them) and I are off to Fudrucker’s in half an hour to celebrate. Not really a tradition, but an excuse. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/5 "2006-05-05T13:11:36Z")
Like St. Patrick’s day, Cinco de Mayo has become an excuse to get drunk. Corona (which is Spanish for Miller hi-life) hypes it, bars hype it, college kids love it, absolutly no one knows what it means. Until I read **Athena’s** post, I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/6 "2006-05-05T14:40:01Z")
It’s just like St. Patrick’s Day (which is not a big deal in Ireland. My friend who was their said everyone “knew” the best place to celebrate it is New York). A holiday celebrated by expatriats that gained some local appeal, and was soon picked up as a marketing boom by beer companies. > [@RSSchen](#): > > Why do countries celebrate _other countries_ Independence Days? Why do we care? Frankly, I couldn’t care less about Cinco de Mayo and think it’s ridiculous to celebrate the independence of one’s home country while living in another. ??? I’m about to move out of the country. Should that stop me from having a 4th of July get together with my friends and reminicing about fireworks and county fairs? People like to celebrate. In December, Christmas trees go up around the world, including in largely non-Christian India and Japan. America in particular is pretty bereft of holidays, and we take what we can get. Also, large swathes of the West used to be Mexico. It is a part of our history, too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/7 "2006-05-05T15:18:11Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > IIRC, Cinco de Mayo is mostly a hispanic-American holiday, and is not widely celebrated in Mexico. It’s not Mexican Independence Day - it’s the day the Mexican Army defeated the French in 1862. > > Googling “Cinco de Mayo” gives you more info than you ever wanted to know about Cinco de Mayo. > > Me? I just find it a good excuse to drink Margaritas and make Mexican food. Woo-woo! Yeah, that’s a common misconception. Mexican Independence Day is in September, I believe. The only reason Mexico had to fight the French was probably a result of loans taken out during the Mexican-American War. So in effect, they get a holiday because we defeated them in battle. You’re welcome, Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/8 "2006-05-05T15:32:41Z")
Being a Texan, I’ve always preferred to celebrate September 16 to Cinco de Mayo. The Battle of Puebla was inspiring and all, but it didn’t have much connection to the eventual overall victory. September 16 celebrates the inital liberation of Mexico from Spanish rule, at a time when Texas and the southwest were still part of Mexico. In my mind at least, that makes it the more sensible event to celebrate, at least here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/9 "2006-05-05T16:46:10Z")
I celebrate May 5 every year. It’s my daughter’s birthday. She’s 14 now. :eek: She got her first pair of (low) heels for a school dance, and a bracelet with a half-carat’s worth of diamonds in it. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/10 "2006-05-05T18:00:19Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I celebrate May 5 every year. > > It’s my daughter’s birthday. She’s 14 now. :eek: She got her first pair of (low) heels for a school dance, and a bracelet with a half-carat’s worth of diamonds in it. I’ve never celebrated Cinco de Mayo or Diez y Seis de Septiembre. I’m not Mexican. But I think that I will this year to just piss off all the anti-illegal immigration bigots that piss and moan about these "Mexican"celebrations. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/11 "2006-05-05T18:25:21Z")
Just an FYI…not all of us against illegal aliens are bigots. ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/12 "2006-05-05T19:00:37Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Just an FYI…not all of us against illegal aliens are bigots. My intent was not to piss off anti-illegal alien crowd as a whole, just the bigots on the anti-illegal alien side. Heck, I’m all for significantly increased border enforcement by professionl immigration trained law enforcement (Border Patrol). And I’m not too much of a bigot. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/13 "2006-05-05T19:53:00Z")
It’s heavily celebrated here in LA, but then we have a massive hispanic population. Plus it’s a great excuse to get drunk. You might as well ask why non-catholics celebrate Mardi Gras, or the aforementioned St Patricks Day etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/14 "2006-05-05T20:11:16Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > It’s just like St. Patrick’s Day Except that there can be no equivalent agony, Mexican or otherwise, of nursing a hang-over the next day with the memory of 100 bagpipes playing _Brian Boru’s March_ stuck in your head. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/15 "2006-05-05T20:52:25Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > Except that there can be no equivalent agony, Mexican or otherwise, of nursing a hang-over the next day with the memory of 100 bagpipes playing _Brian Boru’s March_ stuck in your head. Ah, you must be a fan of accordion music 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/16 "2006-05-05T21:30:03Z")
> [@Slithy Tove](#): > > Except that there can be no equivalent agony, Mexican or otherwise, of nursing a hang-over the next day with the memory of 100 bagpipes playing _Brian Boru’s March_ stuck in your head. You’ve obviously not had enough tequila, or to-kill-ya to be more precise. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/17 "2006-05-06T03:51:24Z")
How I’ve always thought of the holiday in my head: “Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of when some peasants sent a herd of cattle stampeding through the French army. This confused them (“hey, look at all that tasty beef!”) and let the Mexican army beat them. The French promptly returned and took over the country. Eventually France surrendered.” ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/18 "2006-05-06T04:23:53Z")
Say, on what date does _Cinco de Mayo_ fall this year anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/19 "2006-05-06T04:54:22Z")
…And how many countries have a fourth of July? ---
**Author:** ![Zahava424](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/76d3ee/32.png) [@Zahava424](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zahava424)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520/20 "2006-05-07T02:16:51Z")
A lot of American and European Jews celebrate Israeli Independence Day, which was just a few days ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cinco-de-mayo-in-the-usa-elsewhere/355520.md?page=2)