Cinco de Mayo means “Fifth of May” in Spanish, and is a celebration of the Mexican victory at the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862. The Mexican army, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, won the battle even though the French force was three times as large and better equipped. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Mexico, and has become a popular heritage celebration among Mexican-Americans.

• Mexican Holidays: Cinco de Mayo — An explanation of the holiday from Mexonline
• Cinco de Mayo — The story of Cinco de Mayo from Latinonet
• Cinco de Mayo History — UCLA’s Cinco de Mayo site
• Facts for Features : Cinco de Mayo — “Facts for Features and Special Editions consist of collections of statistics from the Census Bureau’s demographic and economic subject areas intended to commemorate anniversaries or observances or to provide background information for topics in the news.”

Cinco de Mayo Recipes

• Cinco de Mayo — Recipes and more from the FabulousFoods website
• Cinco de Mayo — “Celebrate the day with an authentic Mexican feast” from the FoodNetwork website
• Cinco de Mayo — Recipes and information from the AllRecipes.com website
• Taste Tent: Cinco de Mayo — Ideas for celebrating Cinco de Mayo and a collection of recipes from the makers of Tabasco sauce
• Las Favoritas: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Requested Recipes– From the Houston Chronicle

Articles about Cinco de Mayo

The following articles are only available to users of NOBLE member libraries. For home access, you will need to enter your library barcode.

• America’s Growing Observance of Cinco de Mayo — by Alvar W. Carlson, Journal of American Culture, Summer, 1998.
• Cinco de Mayo: Reinventing a Mexican Holiday — by Robert Con Davis-Undiano, Hispanic, May 2000.

For More Information…

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