Let’s be real, Cinco De Mayo is a great excuse to go out and get hammered off margaritas without any shame (as if you had any, to begin with.) But before going out to celebrate at your favorite local Mexican restaurant, it’s important to know the significance of the holiday and clear up common misconceptions surrounding it.
What Does ‘Cinco De Mayo’ Mean?
Are you fucking stupid? Retake high school Spanish, loser.
So, What’s it About, Anyway?
Cinco De Mayo celebrates Mexico’s independence from Spain on September 16, 1862. So, why the fuck is it celebrated in May? Great question! Following the Mexican-American War and the Mexican Reform War, the government was very poor and owed money to Spain, England, and France. The Mexican President at the time, Benito Juarez, stopped paying the countries back two years after promising to pay off their debt. Spain, England, and France were obviously not chill with that so they sent troops to Mexico to collect what was owed. Before the invasion, Spain and England got cold feet and said fuck France, you do that shit on your own. France then decided they didn’t just want their money, they wanted to conquer all of Mexico too. On May 5, 1862, France, considered to have the most powerful military in the world at the time, attacked the Mexican City of Puebla and were defeated by Mexico’s army, hence ‘Cinco De Mayo’.
Cool, right?
How is it ~Traditionally~ Celebrated?
In Mexico, Cinco De Mayo is celebrated with parades and rallies commonly accompanied with mariachi music, traditional dances and food like tamales and tacos. Now, just to be clear, I am not talking about your bullshit tex-mex tacos. A REAL Mexican taco looks something like this…
Not doing it for you? Make some of your own with this authentic Mexican street taco recipe.
Alright, now that we’ve gotten through that history lesson, go drink that margarita guilt-free.