The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.
In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico’s Independence Day— it isn’t. That national holiday in Mexico is celebrated on September 16. But Cinco de Mayo is easier to say than Dieciséis de septiembre. 🙂
