Cinco de Mayo

Celebrated all over, nowhere else is this celebration a bigger deal than in the United States of America.

The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. 

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico's Independence Day - the most important national holiday in Mexico - which is celebrated on September 16.

Although a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the US Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations, like my own little barrio of Union City, New Jersey.

Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.