Cinco De Mayo (Battle Of Puebla)

Cinco de Mayo (also known as the Anniversary of the battle of Puebla) means the fifth of May. This is a very important holiday and is celebrated all throughout Mexico and in the U.S. This holiday is celebrated on the 5th of May in 1862 because the Mexican military victory over French forces of Napoleon III. During the French-Mexican War, a poorly supplied and outnumbered Mexican army, under General Zaragoza defeats a French army trying to capture Puebla de Los Angeles, which is a small town in east-central Mexico. On the fifth of May, 1862, Lorencez drew his army, well trained and loaded with heavy guns, to the city of Puebla and began their assault from the north. The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening, and when the French finally
retreated, they had lost nearly 500 soldiers to the fewer than 100 Mexicans killed. Many people celebrate this holiday throughout Mexico and the U.S by speeches, parades, parties, and reenactments of this battle. In Mexico, school is normally closed and all stores are normally closed as well.