Cinco De Mayo Sesqucentennial

EagleEye

Here in Tucson, Cinco de Mayo is a holiday to celebrate Mexican beer. It is in reality the 150th anniversary of the battle (May 5, 1862) between the Mexicans and the French in a place called Puebla de Los Angeles. It is now known a Puebla de Zaragoza after the hero of the battle, Ignacio Zaragoza who dies shortly after the battle.

So, in honor of the French defeat, "Stay thirsty, my friends"

LanceNewmanOCC

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interesting item
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drwstr123

Just to corroborate Rick's post here's a link to the history: CERVEZA

truthteller

Here, the holiday is called Cinco de Drinko or, Drinko de Mayo. Either way, same result.



TRUTH

JamesMurray

Tucson must have changed since the days i lived on Pastime road We didnt need a holiday to drink to excess lol The tequila went down real well somehow under a desert sky , i was never able to drink it elsewhere..weird

kiyote

<< <i>Here, the holiday is called Cinco de Drinko or, Drinko de Mayo. Either way, same result.

TRUTH >>


Yep! We get sloshed in America on July 4th and Australians don't even know their own names on Australia Day they're so wasted. It's universal.

pruebas

Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican Independence, so the comparison to July 4 is way off base.

Believe it or not, the battle being commemorated is a very important one for North America. Had the Mexicans not won, the French would have a stronghold in North America and there would be significant European influence here.

JamesMurray

"there would be significant European influence here"

Is that to say there isnt ?

kiyote

If the French had won we'd be using that confusing metric system!

ricko

If the French had won.... aaaarrrrrgggggghhhh ... I do not even want to consider it, highly unlikely as it would have been. Cheers, RickO

WTCG

This was already established in another response post but it should be emphasized that Cinco de Mayo does not celebrate an independence day. Mexican independence day is celebrated on September 16.

How would North America look with significant French influence? Go visit Quebec or Martinique. I tell people who are interested in visiting France who at the same time are (unnecessarily) wary of the French people to try a short trip to Montreal first. Like what you see? You'd love Paris. Wanna get out of there after an hour in Vieux-Montreal? Don't even think about that trip.

Lucky me I'll be spending this Cinco de Mayo in Sacramento.

denga

<< <i>Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican Independence, so the comparison to July 4 is way off base.

Believe it or not, the battle being commemorated is a very important one for North America. Had the Mexicans not won, the French would have a stronghold in North America and there would be significant European influence here. >>



Actually, the French did win. After the ill-fated Battle of Pueblo Napoleon III sent in battle-hardened
troops to replace the jail-house conscripts. The Foreign Legion made short order of the Mexican
army, which disintegrated within a few months. Maximilian was made emperor by the French but
there was considerable backing from the upper classes in Mexico. In 1865, once the American Civil
War had ended, General Philip Sheridan threatened to invade Mexico and overthrow the French. He
was restrained by Washington but in due course diplomatic pressure succeeded and the French
withdrew.

As one can imagine, current Mexican history books have a slightly different version of events.

pruebas

<< <i>

<< <i>Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican Independence, so the comparison to July 4 is way off base.

Believe it or not, the battle being commemorated is a very important one for North America. Had the Mexicans not won, the French would have a stronghold in North America and there would be significant European influence here. >>



Actually, the French did win. After the ill-fated Battle of Pueblo Napoleon III sent in battle-hardened
troops to replace the jail-house conscripts. The Foreign Legion made short order of the Mexican
army, which disintegrated within a few months. Maximilian was made emperor by the French but
there was considerable backing from the upper classes in Mexico. In 1865, once the American Civil
War had ended, General Philip Sheridan threatened to invade Mexico and overthrow the French. He
was restrained by Washington but in due course diplomatic pressure succeeded and the French
withdrew.

As one can imagine, current Mexican history books have a slightly different version of events. >>

True enough. But there was fear at the time that the French, with a strong base in Mexico, would aid the Confederacy in the US Civil War. By the time Maximilian was enthroned in Mexico, the Civil War was all but over.

What I'm unsure of is why the French would want to help the Confederacy. Perhaps to destabilize the US and become the dominant force in North America?

JamesMurray

"What I'm unsure of is why the French would want to help the Confederacy."

The French were settled in nicely as early as 1718 in New Orleans and the influence has lasted to even today,im guessing that had something to do with the notion they might back the South.

astrorat

<< <i>... and there would be significant European influence here. >>

Yeah, otherwise with all that European influence, we might be even be speaking some European language ... like English.

EagleEye

As I understand it, the Mexicans reneged on loans to the French. The French sent troops to make them pay up with blood.