Please read to the end.... of this excerpt to see why Cinco de Mayo is a silly, rootless holiday!...
El Cinco de Mayo ("Fifth of May" in Spanish) is a national holiday in Mexico. It commemorates the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French expeditionary forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Under the pretext of forcing payment for Mexico's outstanding and crippling debt, Britain, Spain and France sent troops to Mexico. The democratically elected government of President Benito Juárez made agreements with the British and the Spanish, who promptly recalled their armies, but the French stayed. Emperor Napoleon III wanted to secure French dominance in the former Spanish colony, including installing one of his relatives, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, as ruler of Mexico. Although Abraham Lincoln roundly condemned Napoleon's imperialist ambitions in a neighboring country, he was unable to assist Mexico as the United States was embroiled in the American Civil War at the time.
Confident of a quick victory, 6,500 French soldiers marched on Mexico City to seize the capital before the Mexicans could muster a viable defense. Along their march, the French already encountered stiff resistance before Zaragoza struck out to intercept the invaders.
The battle between the French and Mexican armies occurred on May 5 when Zaragoza's ill-equipped militia of 4,500 men encountered the better armed French force. However, Zaragoza's small and nimble cavalry units were able to prevent French dragoons from taking the field and overwhelming the Mexican infantry. With the dragoons removed from the main attack, the Mexicans routed the remaining French soldiers with a combination of their tenacity, inhospitable terrain, and a stampede of cattle set off by local peasants. The invasion was stopped and crushed.
Zaragoza won the battle but lost the war. The French Emperor, upon learning of the failed invasion, immediately dispatched another force, this time numbering 30,000 soldiers. By 1864, they succeeded in defeating the Mexican army and occupying Mexico City. Archduke Maximillian became Emperor of Mexico.
I hope this is Richmond, CA and not Richmond, VA.
This is in Richmond, Virginia?
No sillier than a bunch of plastic paddies in the US celebrating a Welsh saint.
Great. One of my projects is in Richmond. It is one s*ithole of a place.
Please assure me that you avoid downtown Richmond at all costs!
Reason #541 why not to live in California...Cinco de Mayo Riots.