Cinco de Mayo in France!

The first Friday of May will be Cinco de Mayo.  It seems ironic to celebrate this Mexican holiday in France since it commemorates the little known victory of the Mexican army over the French on the 5th of May in 1862.  Many people mistake the 5th of May for Mexican Independence day, but Mexico had declared its independence from Spain on September 16, 1810 and achieved its independence in 1821. 

Unfortunately, the decades after independence were marked by internal fighting between the Conservatives and the Liberals.  The Conservatives represented the old political order and power structure—the military, the church, and the landed aristocracy.

Then came La Reforma, a takeover by the Liberal party, which led to civil war.  Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian, was elected president, to the dismay of the Conservatives.  The Juarez government inherited huge debt, most of it incurred in financing its long and costly civil war.  England, Spain, and France were the primary creditors and under international law at that time a creditor nation had the right to invade a debtor nation for collection.  All three countries sent fleets with troops to the Mexican port city, Vera Cruz, in 1862.  The Spanish and English soon withdrew but the French remained and advanced inland with 7000 troops intending to seize Mexico City.  The United States, embroiled in its own Civil War, could only watch helplessly and hope for the best for its southern neighbor.

The two armies met 250 miles inland in the town of Puebla when the French attacked fortifications there.  The Mexican troops, including many Zapotec Indians, were not battle-tested and lacked the sophisticated arms of the French, but when the dust had cleared, the French army was routed, leaving behind a thousand dead French soldiers.  The battle was won and a holiday was born.  Eventually, however, the war was won by the French, who a year later with 30,000 troops seized the capital and installed Louis Napoleon’s cousin, the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian Hapsburg, as Emperor of Mexico, sending the Juarez government north into exile.

The victory remained a cause for celebration as it represented to the Mexican and American people the final casting off of Europe’s imperialism in the New World.  Today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated wildly in the United States, predominantly in the Mexican border states, and more reverently but still raucously in Mexico and often around the world in Mexican restaurants.

Pay homage to Mexican culture on Cinco de Mayo with a visit to the Instituto de Mexico a Paris—presently showing Mexique Peinture, an exhibition of the works of 25 artists from Monterrey, Mexico.   Or visit the website http://www.mexiqueculture.org for other listings.

Instituto de Mexico a Paris
119 rue du Vielle Temple, 3eme
Metro: Filles du Calvaire
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-1:00, and 2:30-6:00, Saturday 2:30-6:00
Tel: 01 44 61 84 44
Or celebrate at the following Mexican restaurants in Paris and toast Cinco de Mayo with a margarita or a shot of aged tequila:
Anahuacalli
30, rue des Bernadins, 5 eme
Metro: Maubert-Mutualite
Tel:01 43 26 10 20

Café Pacifico
50, Blvd. Montparnasse, 75025,
Metro: Montparnasse
Tel: 01 45 48 63 87