OK. Cinco de Mayo was the day the Mexican army defeated the French at Pueblo. The significance of this victory is that it is only one of two victories for Mexico on their own soil against a modern foreign invader. Three days later the French marched into Mexico City, wreaked a little havoc and then marched back to their base in Veracruz. A few years later they took Mexico City and then withdrew from Mexico after another year or so. The Mexicans never stood a chance against the French. They were mostly the French Foreign Legion and they are the toughest warriors on the planet, sorry Marines, but I'd bet on them over you.
Porfirio Diaz was a young lieutenant who helped win the day and then went on the become one of the most brutal Dictators in history, certainly for Mexico. He elevated Cinco de Mayo to a National Holiday to glorify himself and when his reign ended Mexico had a sour taste in their mouth about the celebration and don't care for it much. That's why they don't celebrate it, and meanwhile it caught on in the U.S. as a way to celebrate Mexican culture. No one on the street knows anything about the history, they only know it's a party. San Antone is the third largest Hispanic city in the world and they are going nuts today. Huge street fairs. Austin is hopping and we need to go have a drink somewhere and watch the festivities. It's tough being old. My legs want to go dancing, but my body says, “Why? Where you gonna get the energy?”
The other battle that the Mexican Army won was in the beginning of the Mexican American War. Both armies withdrew after heavy fighting and the Mexicans didn't realize that if they had pushed their advantage they might have driven us back, possibly across the Rio Grande. We started the war by stationing an army on the north bank of the Rio Grande, which we claimed as the boundary. Mexico claimed the Pecos as the boundary so all we had to do was go to the Rio Grande, the Mexicans naturally attack and we have a pretense to declare war. We're good at that- 911, Gulf of Tonkin, the Maine, Pearl Harbor.... We've never actually started a war. Right!
Scott marched down through the country and took Mexico City, we stole their northern lands to round out Manifest Destiny and then left them to fend for themselves like the other Banana Republics we messed with, gave them NAFTA and took away the Ejidos, which they fought long and hard to keep. I could go on all day.
We're still drinking Tequila. Now we have to toast King Charlie.
Wow. DR Congo. Nice to see you Elise. You have some history we shouldn't expound on here.