5 DE MAYO

I'm not very keen on días feriados.  Even in my own culture.  I can't tell you when Presidents' Day or Memorial Day or Veteran's Day is.  I was happy to stop decorating for Christmas after my sons left home.

So here we are in Mexico on 5 de mayo and I have to do research to let you know what it's all about.  Seems the Mexicans defeated the French invaders in Puebla in 1862.  Only a temporary defeat, otherwise Maximiliano, the French puppet, would not have become "Emperor." Of course, he was later defeated in battle and executed in Querétaro, the site of which is a tourist attraction, but no street name has memorialized the date.

Many streets here do bear the names of other important national events.  There's 16 de septiembre, 15 de mayo, 20 de noviembre, 17 de octubre, and, of course, 5 de mayo.

Want to hear a song about it?  Here goes:

I don't know much about Cinco de Mayo