Cinco de Mayo History--160 years ago today! скачать в хорошем качестве

Cinco de Mayo History--160 years ago today!

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. It commemorates a single battle. In 1861, Benito Juarez, a lawyer and member of the Indigenous Zapotec tribe, was elected president of Mexico. At the time, the country was in financial ruin after years of internal strife and the new president was forced to default on debt payments to European governments. . France wanted to carve an empire out of the Mexican territory. In 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large force of troops and driving President Juarez’ government into retreat. . Certain that success would come swiftly, 6,000 French troops under General Charles Latrille de Lorencez set out to attack Puebla, a small town in central Mexico. President Juarez rounded up a ragtag force of 2,000 loyal men and sent them to Puebla. The outnumbered and poorly supplied Mexicans, led by Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza, prepared for the French assault. . On May 5, 1862, the French assaulted Puebla with heavy artillery. The battle lasted all day. Having lost nearly 500 French soldiers while only 100 Mexicans were killed, the French troops were forced to retreat. . Zaragoza’s success on May 5, 1862 represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement. With pressure from the US government, the French withdrew from Mexico. . In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is widely interpreted as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with substantial Mexican-American populations. Today, revelers mark the occasion with parades, parties, mariachi music, Mexican folk dancing and traditional foods such as tacos and mole poblano. It is a day to show your cultural pride by wearing traditional Mexican attire.