How is cinco de mayo celebrated in tejano culture

Despite tremendous odds, the humble Mexican Army defeated the most powerful fighting unit in the world! One year after La Batalla de Puebla , the French brought in more troops and re-attacked. Although La Batalla de Puebla on Cinco de Mayo was rendered militarily insignificant by the French's subsequent victory, it did inject the Mexican people with pride and patriotism it had never before enjoyed.

The reason that Chicanos celebrated the holiday is that we appreciate its cultural significance victory in the face of great odds and the patriotism it generated more that its historical relevance.

For this reason, he is considered by many to be the first Chicano hero. During this time, Confederate General Robert E. Lee was enjoying success, and French intervention could have had an impact on the Civil War. The first fiestas patrias were held in Texas in the early s. They included festivities that involved special music, songs, dances, native cuisine, costumes, and homage to folk heroes.

In these celebrations Tejanos displayed and preserved their ethnicity. Many eventually were held at county fair grounds and drew large crowds. At the turn of the twentieth century, San Antonio held elaborate three-day fiestas patrias on September 15 through 17 that typified events elsewhere in Texas.

Additional committees decorated booths and bandstands with bunting, flags, and flowers. A grand marshal and aides were appointed to lead a parade. On September 15 marchers bearing the colors of the United States and Mexico, accompanied by military bands, headed the procession. Next came the carriages with city and county officials and dignitaries from Mexico and the United States. A line of decorated floats with costumed characters representing prominent figures in Mexican history followed.

At the rear were carriages carrying people of prominence, the fiestas patrias committee, invited associations, and individuals. The procession followed a designated route to the fairgrounds or some other location. The crowd surged by decorated booths to a speakers' stage, and at exactly 11 P. The Mexican Declaration of Independence was read, and cries of "Viva la independencia! A United States artillery battery fired a twenty-one-gun salute. On the evening of September 17 the fiestas patrias officially closed with fireworks.

Cinco de Mayo began to be celebrated in the United States soon after news arrived of the Mexican victory at the battle of Puebla over a French expeditionary army on May 5, At the battle of Puebla, Mexican forces led by the Texas-born Ignacio Zaragoza accomplished an initial victory over a professional French army. Although it took five years of civil war before the French were driven out, Mexican monarchical forces were finally defeated, Maximilian was executed, and the Mexican Republic fully restored.

Mexican Americans in California appear to have first celebrated the event in , after news reached the Southwest, and other celebrations soon followed. The growing body of Mexican immigrants to Texas and the western United States in the early decades of the twentieth century reinforced the holiday in the region.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo thus celebrated the cultural ties that the raza the "race" or "clan," i. Sporting costumes and banners, the people gathered to hear speeches, sing patriotic songs, and eat and dance. In the raza held a grand centennial parade of people, with floats and buggies, and a two-day festival at the Lake Concho Pavilion.

There are parades in Mexico City and across the country, but the city of Puebla itself is home to the biggest celebrations. People in small New Mexico towns, for instance, celebrated their heritage and honored the important holiday by gathering outside to travel down the street in spirited parades. Cinco de Mayo became even more popular during the Chicano movement of the s, when Mexican Americans fought for their civil rights.

They saw the holiday as an opportunity to show pride in their culture. Today, large celebrations take place in major cities all over the United States, and people of all ethnicities take part in the festivities. These days, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Mexico with parades and rallies. Occasionally, Mexican revelers will dress in extravagant French military costumes and simpler Mexican uniforms as a reminder of what the holiday is all about.

Children have the day off from school, but many banks and government offices remain open. In America, people celebrate much the same way, but on an even larger scale. There are public parades and private parties, mariachi music, and folk dancing. Mexican food is also part of the festivities, both traditional Mexican meals, like tacos and tamales, and dishes that are more popular in the States, like fajitas and burritos.