Austin, which has a vibrant Mexican American community, celebrates Cinco de Mayo at Fiesta Gardens, a city park located at 1901 Jesse Segovia Ave., on May 7-8.
The two-day event, which takes place just after the official May 5 holiday, brings the Mexican and Mexican American communities together to recognize their shared culture and heritage. The Cinco de Mayo fiesta, hosted by the nonprofit group Fiestas Patrias of Austin, will include live music performed by a number of Tejano and conjunto acts as well as traditional Mexican and Mexican American foods, including gorditas and tacos.
History of the Holiday
A common misconception is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's independence day (which is actually on September 16).
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the outnumbered Mexican army against invading French forces on May 5, 1862, on a hillside above the city of Puebla, capital of the Mexican state of Puebla. Though historians' estimates vary, an estimated 4,000 to 4,500 Mexican soldiers are said to have faced and beaten back between 6,000 and 8,000 French troops who landed in Veracruz and marched toward Mexico City.
After Mexican President Benito Juárez received word of the Battle of Puebla, he declared May 5 (known as Cinco de Mayo in Spanish) a national holiday. Though the battle had little military significance -- a year later, the French captured Puebla in a show of overwhelming force -- it did boost Mexican national pride and aided Juárez and his government politically.
From a cultural standpoint, the victory saluted the courage of Mexico's mestizos (those of mixed racial ancestry) and Indians (los indigenas), who faced European invaders and eventually triumphed, led by Juárez, a Zapotec Indian who is the only full-blooded native ever to serve as Mexico's president.
Celebration's Significance in Austin
For decades, Austin was a segregated city divided by Interstate 35. East Austin traditionally has been home to large numbers of African Americans and Hispanics, primarily Mexicans and Mexican Americans. The area of East Austin just north of Lady Bird Lake includes many Latino-owned restaurants and other businesses, and César Chávez Street, one of the city's key east-west thoroughfares, honors a Mexican American labor leader. So having the Cinco de Mayo festivities on the city's east side is a nod to the historic heart of Austin's Mexican American community.
Though Cinco de Mayo is not widely celebrated in Mexico outside of the state of Puebla, the holiday has become increasingly popular in the United States, particularly in states like Texas and cities like Austin that are home to growing numbers of people who trace their roots back to Mexico.
In addition, according to 2010 census data, Austin's Hispanic population grew by more than 77,000 over the past decade. That increase means that Hispanics make up 35 percent of the city's population, City of Austin demographer Ryan Robinson told the Austin American-Statesman in February 2011.