Cinco de Mayo celebrates a Mexican army that beat the odds to defeat French troops at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. What to know about the holiday.Cinco de Mayo is almost here, and Arizonans are gearing up to celebrate with mariachi bands, lucha libre matches, Mexican food and family-friendly activities.— that’s Sept. 16.
May 5 — which falls on a Friday in 2023 — actually marks Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza’s ill-equipped forces defeating French troops at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Although more of a symbolic victory than a consequential one, years later, France withdrew its efforts to invade Mexican territory. “For Mexico, it meant a great victory because a little disorganized and poor army was able to defeat one of the most powerful armies in the world at that time,” Magdaleno Manzanárez, vice president of external affairs at Western New Mexico University,Here are Cinco de Mayo cultural festivals in metro Phoenix to check out if you want to swerve past the bar crawls and club events.