Cinco de Mayo is an exciting festival. This celebration takes place in many American cities across our nation as well as in Mexico. This has become a day for Mexican-Americans to share their traditions with many friends of different heritages.

The history behind this day goes back to 1862 when Napoleon III was the leader of France. Mexico owed large sums of money to France. Napoleon use this as an excuse to have his soldiers invade Mexico.

There was a fierce battle called the Battle of Puebla. The fancy French army had many weapons and were well trained before the battle.

Puebla was a small town south of Mexico City, with many farmers. The villagers had to make their own army using rocks and sticks. The Mexican army was very poor. But they fought on until the French left.

We really were impressed by the courage of the Mexicans. This battle showed us that if you don’t give up, you can win even if the odds are against you.

If you went to a Cinco de Mayo celebration in America, you might hear a mariachi band playing lively music and see beautiful dancers spinning. Street vendors would be selling beautiful Mexican crafts. You might hear someone calling, “burritos, tacos, enchiladas!”. You would smell delicious scents in the air and feel the excitement everywhere.

You can celebrate, too!

Gabi Salazar 
Grand Lake resident