Americans Celebrate “Mexican New Year”

MAY 5, 2010 (Sheboygan, WI) – “To the Mexican New Year!” exclaimed Gregg Jones as he swallowed his fourth tequila shot of the evening. “Or the Mexican Independence Day, whatever,” he elaborated after sucking on a lime. So was the scene across the United States, where Americans flocked to Mexican-themed restaurants and bars to devour margaritas and marked-up Mexican beer. “Today is not just about Mexico,” proclaimed Jones, expressing a sentiment felt widely among Americans. “It is about public drunkenness.”

In fact, Cinco de Mayo is not the “Mexican Independence Day” or “New Year.” Mexicans celebrate their Independence on September 16th (“Grito de Delores”), commemorating the battle cry of Independence uttered against the Spanish colonial government in 1810. Mexicans celebrate the New Year on January 1st – with the rest of the world. Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over larger French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Largely overlooked in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has been popularized in the United States by the marketing arms of Mexican-themed restaurants like Chili’s, Chipolte, and Chevy’s Fresh Mex, as well as Mexican beer conglomerate Grupo Modelo (owned by Anheuser-Busch) and the U.S.-based Patrón Spirits Company.