Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.

While outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army that had known no defeat for almost 50 years.

Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

However, a common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.