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Curious or Funny Facts about Cinco de Mayo :
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.
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.
Contrary to popular belief in the United States, Cinco de Mayo does not mark Mexican independence day. That distinction is reserved for el Dieciséis de septiembre ('September 16'), which is celebrated at all offices belonging to the executive branch of government, from the president down to the municipal governments, on the night of September 15 through to the early morning hours of September 16 with a re-enactment of the Grito de Dolores; the formal call for an end to Spanish rule in 1810.
Also on 5 May 1901, Ignacio Bravo telegraphed the news of the end of the Caste War of Yucatan with the Mexican victory against the self-proclaimed state of Chan Santa Cruz.
Adapted from Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
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