Cinco de Mayo and the French Mexican War

Dr. Benny Ko is a retired radiologist in Indianapolis after practicing his
specialty for over 40 years. He is an avid world traveler, trekker and
mountain climber. Dr. Ko graduated from IU School of Medicine in 1972 and
specializes in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine.

We have just celebrated Cinco de Mayo.

The celebration may be a little subdued this year due to the corona crisis,
but I am not talking about the local liquor stores running out of Corona
beer as some have done so in past years.

Despite its Mexican roots, the occasion is American today as apple pie, or
as St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, and Lunar New Year has become our common
American heritage. To those of us that think it is a commemoration of
Mexico’s independence, we are wrong and that includes me. I have my
Mexican-American amigo to thank for the history lesson he gave me and one
that I like to share here.

As it turns out, the Mexican National Day is celebrated on September 16,
predominantly in Mexico rather than among its overseas diaspora. It
commemorates Mexico’s initial declaration of independence in 1810, accepted
by Spain only eleven years later in 1821 after a protracted struggle. On
the other hand, Cinco de Mayo (The Fifth of May) celebrates the victory of
the Battle of Puebla in the French-Mexican War in 1862 where a ragtag
Mexican peasant army defeated a mighty French invasion force. Though Mexico
eventually lost the war, the Puebla victory became an inspiration for
continued resistance. The French occupation of Mexico was short-lived and
ill-fated. With America’s help, the imperial French army was forced to
leave Mexico in 1867 and the French-imposed puppet emperor Maximilian was
executed. Mexico became a republic.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated not just in the
Mexican-American communities anymore but increasingly by all Americans. It
has come to embody the courage, defiance, and victory of an oppressed people
against all odds.

Pico de Orizaba, Puebla, Veracruzraruz

Now a few words on Puebla. I have traveled extensively through Mexico, and
Puebla is my favorite city. Two of Mexico’s tallest mountains loom nearby
and thirty years ago my solo attempt to summit one of them, the Pico de
Orizaba, nearly became a climb of no-return. That is another story on its
own. However, I still remember fondly the idyllic city and its very
friendly people. I was surprised to find their women’s traditional dress to
look much alike with a Chinese lady’s gown. The local legend is that a
Mexican sea captain from Puebla had gone to the Orient and married a Chinese
princess. She, in turn, introduced silkworm and silk-making to Puebla.
Well, that too, is another story for another day.

(For readers that are interested in history here is an excellent article on
the Battle of Puebla in a recent issue of National Geographic magazine.

<www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2018/05-06/cinco-de-may
o-history-battle-of-puebla/>
www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2018/05-06/cinco-de-mayo
-history-battle-of-puebla/ ).