All in Mexico

Cinco de Mayo: an American tradition

By TATIANA PROPHET

As you tip up your discounted Corona for Cinco de Mayo, learn a little about the nation you are celebrating, and why you celebrate this holiday. No, it's not the Independence Day of our neighbor to the south.

Cinco de Mayo is now celebrated on a much larger scale in the United States than in Mexico, because in Mexico, it is secondary to their Independence Day, which is September 16.

Brenda Hernandez, born in Los Angeles but whose family is from the state of Jalisco, said she was not celebrating tonight.

"I celebrate the independence of Mexico, but that's in September," she said. "That was just a Mexican victory by Puebla over France," she added, referring to the Fifth of May.