Why is Cinco de Mayo more popular than the Mexican Independence Day ?

7 comments

1. Why not?

2. American-Mexican restaurants marketed it that way.

3. Calm down.

4. May is spring, its party time. May lends itself to fruity Mexican drinks and beachy Mexican themes.

   September in much of the US is cold, it’s the beginning of school, it’s pumpkins and autumn leaves.

   Cinco de Mayo just filled a holiday gap.

5. During the the us civil war France took the chance to re invade Mexico under flimsy pretext and violated the Monroe doctrine. The us sent guns and aid during our Civil War to help Mexico fight the French backed forces, the victory of Mexico over the imperial French ambitious was celebrated as a victory for the US against old world ambitions in the new world. Mexico would keep fighting that war long after that battle but the French lost all legitimacy to the emporer of Mexico not long after.

   Tldr Cinco de mayo is an American celebration originally of the us sending military aid to Mexico and their victory.

6. Cinco De Mayo was celebrated by Mexican Americans for decades because they wanted to raise funds for anti-French forces in the Mexican Empire of Maximillian the First which was a puppet state of Napoleon the III during the Civil War. It celebrates the Battle of Puebla which was one of the first Mexican victories (and included a young Porforio Diaz)

   The diaspora then just kept celebrating it for general cultural reasons until people decided to use it to market business (mainly Mexican restaurants).

7. It’s my understanding that it worked better, timing-wise, for Mexican-American students who wanted to have cultural celebrations in schools. In September, school’s just starting, you don’t even have clubs going yet. By May, people are prepared.