Top 5 Things People Think 5o De Mayo Is About

[Editor’s Note: This list was compiled with the help of Victor Landa.]

Cinco de mayo is coming up this week, and for those not in the know, the holiday is emphatically not Mexico’s independence day. This is a tidbit that we thought you might like to know, and since we’re myth busting, we might as well add a few more things that people usually think that Cinco de mayo is about. Stay tuned because Victor Landa is going to be writing a story about the holiday for us this week!

1. Mexican Independence Day

As previously mentioned, Cinco de mayo is not Mexican Independence Day, that’s actually the 16th of September, which is technically not the day Mexico actually gained independence, but the day the fight for independence started.

2. A holiday for all Latinos

Cinco de mayo is a commemoration of the Battle of Puebla, Mexico, in which a rag-tag Mexican army defeated the French army, which was one of the most well-equipped and trained forces in the world in 1862. So, you see, the holiday celebrates a Mexican milestone and is not about Latinos in the U.S.

3. A celebration of Budweiser

While we all know that Budweiser would like to be the official sponsor of Cinco de mayo, the truth of the matter is that they are not. Budweiser tends to be a sponsor at many Latino cultural events, but they got on the bandwagon long after the day began to be celebrated in the U.S.

4. A type of Mexican sandwich spread

No, Cinco de mayo is not a mixture of egg yolk and oil that you put in your ham sandwiches. “Mayo” in Spanish means “May,” since the event we’re commemorating with that day took play on May 5, 1862.

5. A national holiday

Cinco de  mayo is not a huge national holiday either in the U.S. or in Mexico or anywhere else, for that matter. It’s just a day that started to be celebrated by Mexicans in the U.S. during the Civil War era and has continued to be celebrated since.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD