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Mexicans
don't
understand
why
Gringos
celebrate
Cinco de
Mayo,
other
than a
reason
to get
drunk
And
no,
Cinco de
Mayo is
not
Mexican
Independence
Day
By
Allison
Jackson/Tell
Us
Mexico
via
GlobalPost
GUADALAJARA,
MX -
It’s
Cinco de
Mayo and
for most
Mexicans
that
means,
in their
country,
they
don’t
have to
go to
work.
And,
that’s
it.
South of
the Rio
Grande,
very few
Mexicans
celebrate
their
country’s
temporary
victory
over the
invading
French
army on
May 5,
1862.
In fact,
outside
the
state of
Puebla,
where
the
historic
battle
took
place,
you will
struggle
to find
street
parades,
Chihuahuas
dressed
up as
mariachis
and
people
driving
around
waving
the
Mexican
flag.
For most
Mexicans
it's no
big
deal.
It's
nothing
more
than a
national
holiday.
So you
can
imagine
the
bewilderment
felt by
many
Mexicans
every
year
when
people
in the
United
States
put on
sombreros,
stuff
themselves
with
guacamole
and get
drunk on
margaritas
to mark
a battle
that has
nothing
to do
with
their
country
and that
many
mistake
for
Mexico's
Independence
Day.
That’s
not to
say that
Mexicans
aren’t
proud of
what
their
rag-tag
army
achieved
153
years
ago.
Mexican
troops
kicked
some
serious
butt
against
the
bigger
and
better
equipped
French
army who
had been
sent by
Napoleon
III to
force
Mexico
to repay
its
debts.
Instead,
they
took
over the
country
and
temporarily
made it
part of
the
French
empire.
While it
took a
few more
years
for the
Mexicans
to kick
the
French
out of
their
country,
the
Battle
of
Puebla
showed
Mexico
had the
huevos
to stand
up for
itself
and
defend
its
sovereignty
against
foreign
invaders.
But it
was one
battle
in a
long-fought
war. It
is not
the
equivalent
of the
Fourth
of July.
Yet it
has
become
the
Mexican
equivalent
of St.
Patrick's
Day — an
excuse
to get
drunk.
Mexico's
actual
Independence
Day
falls on
Sept. 16
and
that's
an
anniversary
most
Mexicans
feel is
worth
celebrating.
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