5 LESSER KNOWN FACTS ABOUT CINCO DE MAYO

You know that Cinco de Mayo, or May 5th, is the day you and your friends eat guacamole and drink margaritas, but do you know why? Do you know why you and your friends gather for tacos, burritos, and chips with salsa every year on May 5th? You might not know very much about Cinco de Mayo, but that’s about to change.

Impress your friends with these fun, lesser known facts about Cinco de Mayo (which, for starters, means “the 5th of May”):

1. It is not celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day. Mexico’s Independence Day is actually celebrated in September. Cinco de Mayo celebrates an unexpected victory. Despite being smaller and less equipped, on May 5th, 1862, Mexico’s army overcame the French at the Battle of Puebla. (That said, the French forced Mexico to surrender the following spring.)

2. It’s a bigger deal in the United States than in Mexico. Sure, it’s a Mexican holiday, and in Puebla, you can expect to find political speeches and battle reenactments. But the United States has taken the holiday to new levels of revelry. As a matter of fact, the world’s largest Cinco de Mayo party takes place in Los Angeles, which welcomes hundreds of thousands for its Festival de Fiesta Broadway. Although most countries have started celebrating in some way, Spain seems to be the only one that doesn’t.

3. Millions of avocados are consumed. This is hardly a surprise, but well over 80 million avocados are consumed each Cinco de Mayo. That’s a lot of guac!

4. The origin of the margarita is undetermined. Interestingly enough, several have claimed to have invented the margarita, though one restaurant owner, Carlos “Danny” Herrera is most believed to have invented the drink in 1938.

5. Tequila is a must. According to surveys, although tequila originated in Mexico, the United States consumes twice as much of the spirit as its originating country.

How are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo?