Celebrations Today

For the most part, the holiday of Cinco de Mayo is more of a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated most vigorously in the state of Puebla. Though there is recognition of the holiday throughout the country with different levels of enthusiasm, it's nothing like that found in Puebla.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo has become increasingly popular along the U.S.-Mexico border and in parts of the U.S. that have a high population of people with a Mexican heritage. In towns throughout the country, the fiesta includes Mexican food, such as Mole Poblano, Mexican music, including mariachi bands, parades, piñatas for the kids and fireworks at the end of the day. In places like Puebla and Mexico City, there is a reenactment of the battle. Men dress as French and Mexican soldiers and generals, and women wear the clothing of the soldaderos, the women who cooked for and looked after the soldiers in wartime. In some representations, the Mexican soldiers carry machetes and old gun-powder rifles, and the French soldiers carry bags with wine bottles sticking out. It is said that in some of these staged battles, there are actual casualties. In other reenactments, fruit is used as ammunition, so the worst injury possible is an apple to the head.

Commercial interests in the United States and Mexico have also been successful in promoting the holiday, with products and services focused on Mexican food, beverages and festivities, with music playing a more visible role as well. Celebrations take place in many major U.S. cities, including San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, St. Paul, Chicago and Los Angeles. Cinco de Mayo is actually celebrated more widely and on a grander scale in the United States than it is in Mexico, possibly due to effective marketing techniques.

Carnivals, street fairs and multi-day festivals are held all over the United States during the first week in May. In Los Angeles, Cinco de Mayo festivities attract hundreds of thousands of people. Red, white and green -- the colors of the Mexican flag -- are the dominant tones on the blocks around City Hall, and a portrait of General Zaragoza adorns the stage where the mayor of Los Angeles delivers a speech in Spanish. In St. Paul, Minnesota, the festivities include a "Lowrider Hydraulic Showdown"; in Austin, Texas, there is a jalapeño-eating contest; and in San Marcos, Texas, the winner of the Miss Cinco de Mayo pageant receives a $1,000 scholoarship.

The Mexican president gives a speech in Mexico City that is televised nationwide, and the day's reveling ends with shouts of "¡Viva Mexico