One of the things I like most about Mexico is that every town, large or small, doesn’t need much of a reason to declare any given day a party day of celebration. One of those days has slipped across the border, where many cities in the U.S. now have Cinco de Mayo (May 5) festivities, incorrectly believing it to be Mexican Independence Day, which is actually September 16. Undeterred by the facts, the gringo side of the border rocks to mariachi music, heavy tequila drinking, and shouts of “Viva Mexico” from San Diego to NYC. It is the day, to paraphrase JFK, when “we are all Mexicanos.” I’m not sure how this started, but I remember reading that it was at a California university, maybe Long Beach State, where some genius frat boys, looking for a reason to party, chose that date. That sounds about right to me.

In Mexico, the town of Puebla has the best celebration, as that is where the battle with the French that marks the day in 1862, took place. The 4-hour battle against an army of 6,000 Frenchmen was a nice, temporary victory for Mexico, but soon thereafter the French conquered all of Mexico, where they ruled for the next 5 years until Benito Juarez was restored to power until his death in 1872.

Ironically, in a country that celebrates every saint and symbol known to man, most of Mexico barely acknowledges Cinco de Mayo.