El Cinco de Mayo ("The Fifth of May" in Spanish) is a national celebration in Mexico. It commemorates the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated by Mexican-Americans and their descendants in the United States and Canada. Many cities with significant Mexican and Chicano populations throughout the U.S. schedule special events on the 5th of May. In Los Angeles, most notably, revelers fill the streets in front of City Hall for speeches and performances by Mexican entertainers on this day.
Although the celebration of this holiday has historically been limited to Latin-American communities, particularly in the southwest, it has become increasingly popular across the U.S. and Canada, and among all ethnic groups in the last 10 years. In recent years, it has been celebrated widely and in a similar style as St. Patrick's Day "” namely a celebration and identification with Mexicans, their culture, food, and music by Anglos and other unrelated ethnic groups. However, many Americans and Canadians have only a cursory understanding of the significance of this day; it is often mistakenly assumed to be Mexico's independence day, and in practice, it is usually celebrated on a superficial level.
The real source of this celebration in the United States and Canada was from a marketing campaign by the combined forces of Corona and El Torito in the late 1970.
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