Unlike last year, today I've heard no mention of Cinco De Mayo. Last year everyone was having Cinco De Mayo Parties. Or maybe I've just been out of touch today. Well anyway, Happy Cinco De Mayo!
Unlike last year, today I've heard no mention of Cinco De Mayo.
I've found it to be quiet as well. I'm not a great googler, but I did not find anything locally for this year. Did they have something at the World's Fair site Saturday like they did last year?
Submitted by Virgil Proudfoot on Tue, 2008/05/06 - 10:12am.
Contrary to common belief north of the U.S./Mexico border, the 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated because of a decisive battle, when 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and collaborator Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Like much of Mexican history, the story is a little complicated but well worth retelling. My summary below is a shortened version of a longer history available online: Link....
The French had landed in Mexico five months before the battle of Puebla, supposedly to collect Mexican debts from the newly elected government of Benito Juarez. In fact, though, under Emperor Napoleon III, the French brought a Hapsburg prince named Maximilian to rule Mexico. Napoleon’s well-equipped army invaded Mexico. Meanwhile, the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.
The French Army left the port of Veracruz to attack Mexico City, and the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up if their capital fell to the enemy. ¡Ni modo! [No way!]
Texas-born General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Porfirio Diaz to take his cavalry out to the French flanks. In response, the French sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to slaughter them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through mud and hundreds of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians.
When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz’s horsemen. The Mexicans had won a victory that kept Napoleon III, who hated the United States, from supplying the Confederate rebels north of the border for another year, allowing the United States to build up its army, which was able to smash the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the U.S. Civil War.
U.S. forces were then rushed to the Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got the weapons and ammunition needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the subsequent victory parade in Mexico City.
It might be a stretch to credit the survival of the United States as a single country to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862, but who knows? Maybe instead of greeting Mexican immigrants with signs saying “Learn English” or “Go Back to Mexico,” we should be thanking our Mexican friends for helping us defeat the racist, French-supported Confederate threat to the Union. Cinco de Mayo is a day that both countries should celebrate.
Submitted by StaceyDiamond on Tue, 2008/05/06 - 5:21pm.
The Cinco De Mayo fest at Worlds Fair Park was heavily advertised and there was a nice crowd and good music. I've been to all kinds of international fests Knoxville has had over the years and usually they just drew white do-gooders and politicos. This year's fest at the park seemed to be mostly Mexicans, a large crowd. I guess that's good. Anyway, I enjoyed it. There were also advertised party's at Soccer Taco and Ray's ESG. I think other parties were held Sat.
I've found it to be quiet as well. I'm not a great googler, but I did not find anything locally for this year. Did they have something at the World's Fair site Saturday like they did last year?
Contrary to common belief north of the U.S./Mexico border, the 5th of May is not Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated because of a decisive battle, when 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and collaborator Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Like much of Mexican history, the story is a little complicated but well worth retelling. My summary below is a shortened version of a longer history available online: Link....
The French had landed in Mexico five months before the battle of Puebla, supposedly to collect Mexican debts from the newly elected government of Benito Juarez. In fact, though, under Emperor Napoleon III, the French brought a Hapsburg prince named Maximilian to rule Mexico. Napoleon’s well-equipped army invaded Mexico. Meanwhile, the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.
The French Army left the port of Veracruz to attack Mexico City, and the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up if their capital fell to the enemy. ¡Ni modo! [No way!]
Texas-born General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Porfirio Diaz to take his cavalry out to the French flanks. In response, the French sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to slaughter them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through mud and hundreds of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians.
When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz’s horsemen. The Mexicans had won a victory that kept Napoleon III, who hated the United States, from supplying the Confederate rebels north of the border for another year, allowing the United States to build up its army, which was able to smash the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the U.S. Civil War.
U.S. forces were then rushed to the Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got the weapons and ammunition needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the subsequent victory parade in Mexico City.
It might be a stretch to credit the survival of the United States as a single country to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862, but who knows? Maybe instead of greeting Mexican immigrants with signs saying “Learn English” or “Go Back to Mexico,” we should be thanking our Mexican friends for helping us defeat the racist, French-supported Confederate threat to the Union. Cinco de Mayo is a day that both countries should celebrate.
The Cinco De Mayo fest at Worlds Fair Park was heavily advertised and there was a nice crowd and good music. I've been to all kinds of international fests Knoxville has had over the years and usually they just drew white do-gooders and politicos. This year's fest at the park seemed to be mostly Mexicans, a large crowd. I guess that's good. Anyway, I enjoyed it. There were also advertised party's at Soccer Taco and Ray's ESG. I think other parties were held Sat.
I need to get out more, instead of being trapped in my cocoon of a life.
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