If you’re anything like us, you celebrate Cinco de Mayo by enjoying tequila (and tequila-based cocktails, Mexican beer, and foods like meaty tacos, cheesy quesadillas, and overstuffed burritos as big as your head. But, while you enjoy all the food and drinks on the 5th, do you really know why you’re celebrating this boozy holiday in the first week of May?
Like you (and many other people), I spent most of my life unaware of what Cinco de Mayo was actually celebrated for. I took the date for granted and just assumed it was an awesome day to celebrate the fact that sunny, warm days are officially here to stay. But, when I finally started thinking about it, I began to wonder why Cinco de Mayo was actually celebrated and why we feel the need to drink so much and overeat savory, cheesy, meaty, spicy foods.
What is the history of Cinco de Mayo?
There’s a chance you’re still scratching your head as to why we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. And, before you even ask, it’s not Mexico’s Independence Day. You might hear some uninformed party goer sipping a Corona and spouting off about this “fact”. But they’re just rehashing what someone else probably told them.
That holiday takes place on September 16th. It’s a celebration of the “Grito de Dolores,” translated as the Cry of Dolores. This was the beginning of the war of independence from Spain in 1810.
Cinco de Mayo, while more well-known in the US, is not as memorable a historical date. It’s the celebration of the overmatched Mexican army led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, which managed a victory over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 during the Second French Intervention in Mexico.
While this battle didn’t end the war, the victory was a major turning point and gave the Mexican army confidence for the battles ahead. This is why Mexicans began celebrating this event a year later, and it eventually morphed into a major holiday still celebrated today. And while there are parades and merriment in places like the state of Puebla and other parts of Mexico, you might be wondering how it became the commercialized, booze-filled holiday we know it as today.
Why do we drink beer and tequila on Cinco de Mayo?
For more than a century, Cinco de Mayo has been celebrated primarily in Mexico. That all changed in the 1980s. This is when tequila and beer brands began to wonder how they could gain a stronger foothold with Latino consumers in the American beverage marketplace. They needed a new holiday where people would drink their products. Cinco de Mayo, with its placement on the calendar towards the end of spring, seemed like a perfect choice.
And, while we think of Cinco de Mayo as a holiday to drink beer, you can not only thank that iconic brand, but Budweiser, Miller, and Coors as well. These (and some other brands) spent a great deal of money advertising around Cinco de Mayo as a drinking holiday, like St. Patrick’s Day.
Clearly, it worked because when most people think of Cinco de Mayo, they don’t think of the Battle of Puebla, but a frosty Corona, a shot of Cuervo, and a cheesy quesadilla.
