Happy Cinco de Mayo! By the end of the day, there will be more guacamole and nachos consumed than any other day of the year, that is, in the United States. Why? It is a day of celebrating… what is it we are celebrating on May 5 each year? If you want to know the truth, what we are really celebrating is effective marketing.

If you thought that Cinco de Mayo was widely celebrated in Mexico, think again. It is an example of effective marketing to Americans who were looking for an excuse to have a party. There are a lot of misconceptions about Cinco de Mayo. Many people believe that May 5 is Independence Day in Mexico. It is not (September 16, 1810 is the date Mexico declared independence from Spain.) May 5 is actually called Battle of Puebla Day in Mexico. Here is the backstory. On May 5, 1862, a small band of Mexican militia members turned back an attack by the French army. Mexico had just come out of a civil war and owed a lot of money to Great Britain, Spain and France. Their president decided to default on the country’s debt and the three European superpowers of their day took issue with that. The British and Spanish governments negotiated a settlement with Mexico. However, Emperor Napoleon III of France decided to go to war and take control of Mexico. France had one of the best militaries in the world and they expected to march into Mexico City with little resistance. For the most part, that is what happened, with one exception. The Mexican victory at Puebla delayed the French from taking over Mexico for about a year, but the French did defeat the Mexicans in 1863 and won the war. Napoleon set up a puppet government, which was overthrown four years later.

Those who took part in the Battle of Puebla called for a celebration to commemorate the May 5, 1862, battle re-enacting the victory over the French. However, it did not gain much traction in Mexico. To this day, it is not a nationally recognized holiday and most Mexicans go about their normal business on May 5.

So how did it get to be such a big day north of the border? In the 1960s, a group of Hispanic activists were looking for a way to promote awareness of Mexican laborers – particularly migrant workers from Mexico. They needed a day where their heritage would be lifted up in the United States much the way St. Patrick’s Day celebrated Irish heritage or Octoberfest celebrated German heritage. They settled on the Battle of Puebla Day, but they didn’t think a war commemoration day would resonate with most Americans, so they rebranded and marketed it under another name: Cinco de Mayo. The day that was meant to remember a battlefield victory over the evil French empire became a day to eat Mexican food, listen to mariachi bands, and celebrate Latino heritage. It worked! Today Mexican restaurants will be teeming with customers to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but my guess is very few of them could tell you when the Battle of Puebla Day is.

That is why I think we should call this day Cinco de Marketing! If it weren’t for the successful rebranding and marketing of this day, we would have never heard of it. So let’s all dip our chips in salsa and raise them to effective marketing.