When I went to San Luis Potosi, Mexico to teach English I was surprised to find that May 5th was not a National Holiday. It's a major event in Puebla but scarcely celebrated in San Luis Potosi. Its a big fiesta here in the U.S. and I had assumed it was celebrated all over Mexico. In fact, a lot of gringos think May 5th is Mexico's Independence Day. -- Dick Davis

Here's the story.

On May 5th, 1867 in San Ignacio, Texas, they first celebrated General Ignacio Zaragosa's victory and other border towns picked up the tradition.

May 5, 1862: The Mexican forces at Puebla defeated the invading superior French army. This was the first time since Mexico's Independence (1821) that Mexicans had won a victory over a European army. It was a source of pride. But it was the beginning battle, not the final victory. It still took 5 years to expel the French.

Ignacio Zaragosa, named for San Ignacio founder of the Jesuit Order, was the victorious general at Puebla. General Zaragosa was born in 1829 in Goliad, Texas while it was still part of Mexico.

In 1836 Texas became independent from Mexico and the Zaragosa family was forced to relocate to Matamoros and later to Monterrey, Mexico. So although General Zaragosa was born Mexican, his birthplace ended up on the U.S. side of the border. After his glorious success over the French, he died of typhus in September 1862.

But in 1867, Cinco de Mayo began in Texas as a source of cultural pride. On May 5th, 1867 in San Ignacio, Texas, they first celebrated General Ignacio Zaragosa's victory and other border towns picked up the tradition.

Corridos, Mexican ballads, which in an oral tradition are the newspapers and editorials of events, carried the story of the defeat of the French and sang the praises of the Hero of Puebla, the "unconquerable general of the Border."

Music, migration and Texas-Mexican pride spread the tradition.