Cinco de Mayo: Why a Mexican Military Victory Became an American Cultural Celebration

There are many books for children explaining WHAT Cinco de Mayo is, WHO celebrates it, and HOW, WHEN and WHERE it is celebrated. But until now there has never been a satisfactory explanation about WHY an obscure victory in a lost war a century and a half ago is so significant to Mexican Americans today. The author’s research into Mexican history and sociology reveals an unexpected answer and elucidates the true meaning of the holiday. Ms. Horner probes the divisive caste system imposed upon New Spain by the Spanish conquerors in 1519 and its slow and painful evolution, driven by political forces, into the amalgam of ethnicities that comprise modern Mexico. The succinct text provides an overview of the polarized, fractious society that existed before the French Intervention of the mid-nineteenth century and of the surge of patriotism that wrested an improbable triumph from the superior French aggressors at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May, 1862. It clarifies why Cinco de Mayo, not Mexican Independence Day, has become a rallying point of solidarity among people of Mexican descent in the U.S. This book is an essential addition to children’s literature for intermediate grades on the American celebration of Cinco de Mayo and is a vital resource for educators.

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