What You Need To Know About Cinco de Mayo in English and Spanish

 ¿Quà © es el Cinco de Mayo? What is Cinco de Mayo? This bilingual feature has been written with classroom use in mind — a grammar guide at the end provides useful tips for Spanish students. En espaà ±ol: Los orà ­genes del Cinco de Mayo Muchos creen que el cinco de mayo es el aniversario de la independencia mexicana. Pero no tienen razà ³n — el dà ­a de independencia en Mà ©xico es el 16 de septiembre. Para familiarizarse con los orà ­genes de la celebracià ³n, es necesario estudiar los sucesos a mediados del siglo diecinueve. Despuà ©s de la Guerra Mexicana Americana, Mà ©xico enfrentaba una crisis econà ³mica. En 1861, Benito Juà ¡rez, el presidente mexicano, declarà ³ que Mà ©xico aplazarà ­a por dos aà ±os los pagos de deudas exteriores. Aunque Juà ¡rez hubo dicho que se reanudarà ­an los pagos en 1863, la promesa no satisfizo a Gran Bretaà ±a, Francia y Espaà ±a. Se ablandaban Gran Bretaà ±a y Espaà ±a, pero Francia insistià ³ en obtener su dinero por la fuerza. Napoleà ³n III, emperador de los franceses, nombrà ³ un pariente, archiduque Maximillian de Austria, el là ­der de Mà ©xico. Mientras marchaba hacia la Ciudad de Mà ©xico, el ejà ©rcito francà ©s enfrentaba resistencia tenaz. El 5 de mayo, 1862, el general Ignacio Zaragoza y su ejà ©rcito mexicano vencieron el ejà ©rcito francà ©s en la batalla de Puebla. La victoria mexicana era una sorpresa porque el ejà ©rcito francà ©s era mà ¡s grande y tenà ­a materiales superiores. Segà ºn  un refrà ¡n inglà ©s, es posible ganar la batalla y perder la guerra. Los franceses ganaron otras batallas, y Maximillian se hizo là ­der en 1864. Pero los franceses, enfrentando resistencia mexicana y presià ³n de los Estados Unidos, retiraron las tropas en 1867. El Cinco de Mayo es un dà ­a para conmemorar el coraje de los luchadores contra la opresià ³n. Quizà ¡s por eso este dà ­a de fiesta es muy popular dondequiera haya personas de ascendencia mexicana. Por ejemplo, la fiesta hoy dà ­a es muy popular en Estados Unidos, donde viven muchas persons con antepasados de Mà ©xico. In English: Origins of Mexicos Cinco de Mayo Many people believe that May 5 is the anniversary of the Mexican Independence. But theyre mistaken, for the Mexican Independence Day is September 16. To understand the origins of the celebration, you need to go back to the middle of the 19th century. After the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, Mexico was in a fiscal crisis. In 1861 Mexican President Benito Juà ¡rez declared that Mexico was suspending payment on all its foreign debt for two years. Even though Juà ¡rez had said payments would resume in 1863, Great Britain, France and Spain were not satisfied. Although the British and Spanish-backed off, France insisted on using force to secure its debt payments. French Emperor Napoleon III named a relative of his, Archduke Maximillian of Austria, as ruler of Mexico. As it was marching toward Mexico City, the French Army encountered stiff resistance. On May 5, 1862, General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French Army in the Battle of Puebla. The Mexican victory was a surprise, for the French Army was larger and better equipped. There is a saying that its possible to win the battle and lose the war. The French won other battles, and Maximillian became the ruler in 1864. But facing Mexican resistance and American pressure, the French withdrew their troops in 1867. Cinco de Mayo is a time to recognize the bravery of those who fight against oppression. Perhaps that is why this holiday is popular wherever there are people of Mexican descent. For example, the fiesta these days is very popular in the United States, where many people who have Mexican ancestors live. Grammatical Highlights Differences in uses of the two simple past tenses of Spanish can be seen in the article. In general, the preterite is used here in referring to ordinary events (such as with ganaron for the winning of battles), the imperfect is used to provide background, such as in the use of tenà ­an  materiales (literally had materiel). Names of the months typically arent capitalized in Spanish. The name of the holiday is, however. Adjectives such as mexicana and francà ©s derived from names of countries also arent capitalized, nor are most titles such as archiduque. Note how reflexive verbs such as familiarizarse and reanudarse (in the form se reanudarà ­an) are used. Alhough the two verbs could be translated literally in this context as to familiarize oneself and to resume themselves, such a translation would be awkward. In the third paragraph, a comma is used after France in English but not after Francia in Spanish. That is because Spanish does not use the Oxford comma before the y (and) in a series of words.