Cinco de Mayo celebrates resilience and culture of Mexican people
[May 05, 2025]
By FERNANDA FIGUEROA
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Cinco de Mayo festivities are taking place across
the U.S. with music, tacos, tequila and colorful displays of Mexican
culture — even if they're not always the most authentic.
The day falls on a Monday this year, meaning the bulk of the
celebrations took place over the weekend. In California, a state with a
large Mexican American population, there was a mix of art displays,
classic car shows, parades and food truck offerings.
In Austin, Texas, events included an opportunity for children to get
their photo taken with characters from the Disney animated musical “Encanto,"
which is itself a celebration of Mexican culture. A luncheon with
speakers talking about the significance of the Mexican holiday and
Mexican Americans in Austin was planned for Monday.
Here's a look at the celebration and its roots:
What the day celebrates
Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the 1862 victory by Mexican
troops over invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The triumph
over the better-equipped and much larger French troops was an enormous
emotional boost for Mexican soldiers led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza.
In Mexico, historical reenactments are held annually in the central city
of Puebla to commemorate the victory. Participants dress as Mexican and
French troops, and as Zacapoaxtlas — the Indigenous and farmer
contingent that helped Mexican troops win.
In the United States the date is seen as a celebration of Mexican
American culture, stretching back to the 1800s in California.
Festivities typically include parades, street food, block parties,
mariachi competitions and baile folklórico, or folkloric ballet, with
whirling dancers wearing bright, ruffled dresses and their hair tied
with shiny ribbons.

Latino activists and scholars say that disconnect in the U.S. is
bolstered by the hazy history of Cinco de Mayo, and marketing that plays
on stereotypes that include fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic,
colorful sombreros. The day often is mistaken for Mexican Independence
Day, which is in September.
It's not all about tequila and tacos
For many Americans with or without Mexican ancestry, the day is an
excuse to toss back tequila shots and gorge on tortilla chips, nachos
and tacos.
The celebrations in the U.S. started as a way for Mexican Americans to
preserve their cultural identity, said Sehila Mota Casper, director of
Latinos in Heritage Conservation.
“Since then we’ve seen a shift to more commercialization and
commodification and mockery over the years," Mota Casper said. "I think
that has a lot to do with the commercialization of products and
especially Latino heritage.”
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Women dance during a re-enactment of The Battle of Puebla as part of
Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the Peñon de los Baños neighborhood of
Mexico City, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

Mota Casper encourages people to learn about that day in history and
its importance in Mexico.
Jacob Troncoza, 49, said he celebrates Cinco de Mayo in his
household because he's proud of his Mexican ancestry.
“I try to make sure that the kids understand what it’s about, which
was the revolution, the war, and the battles that our grandfathers
fought on,” said Troncoza, who was born in east Los Angeles.
Others, like Andrea Ruiz don't because her Mexican dad never did.
But she noted what she deemed the irony in widespread celebrations.
“I think it’s funny Trump … and all of his supporters want to get
Mexicans out, call them criminals, but then on Cinco de Mayo, they
want to go and eat tacos and drink tequila,” the 23-year-old Ruiz
said.
Political rhetoric
Since returning to the White House, Trump has continued to label
Mexican immigrants as criminals and gang members. He's also sought
to end birthright citizenship, renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the
Gulf of America and ended the federal government's diversity, equity
and inclusion programs.
Trump acknowledged Cinco de Mayo during his first term, posting on
X, “Happy #CincoDeMayo!” and “I love Hispanics!” as he sat with a
“taco bowl.” In the last presidential election, data showed more
young Hispanic men moved to the right and voted for Trump.
It's unclear if the current administration will acknowledge Cinco de
Mayo — designated a holiday in Mexico but not in the United States.
The Associated Press sent an email to the White House Press Office
late Friday seeking comment.
Trump's handling of immigration remains a point of strength as he
ramps up deportations and targets people living in the U.S. without
legal status, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC
Center for Public Affairs Research. While Trump’s actions remain
divisive, there’s less of a consensus that the Republican president
has overstepped on immigration than on other issues, the poll found.
Organizers of Chicago's Cinco de Mayo parade said they canceled it
because the city has become a target for immigration agents.
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Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to
this report.
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