Orozco is a Mexican poet and diplomat. He is the cultural attaché of the Mexican consulate in San Diego and lives in Point Loma. This essay was translated from Spanish by The San Diego Union-Tribune.
It isn’t the first time that this will be said, and it won’t be the last: Cinco de Mayo does not celebrate Mexican independence. That is celebrated on Sept. 16. On Cinco de Mayo, we celebrate the victory of the Mexican people over the invading French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
The day is a national holiday in Mexico, but it is usually celebrated in a rather discreet manner there. So why is it that, in the United States, Cinco de Mayo is taken as the most emblematic Mexican holiday, and that it is synonymous with and a reason for a general holiday, regardless of the national origin of those who join in the celebration?
