Cinco de Mayo History: An American Celebration of the Battle of Puebla

Cinco de Mayo History: An American Celebration of the Battle of Puebla
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By Liz Heron | ABC News

What is Cinco de Mayo anyway? Contrary to popular belief, it's not Mexican Independence Day, which is commemorated Sept. 16.

It actually celebrates the 1862 Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla and, according to many people, is more of a U.S. holiday than a Mexican one.

For the average Mexican, today is just another Wednesday, wrote Oscar Casares, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin.

"The holiday, which has never really been much of one in Mexico, crossed over to this side of the border in the 1950s and 1960s, as civil rights activists were attempting to build harmony between the two countries and cultures," Casares wrote. Read more.