section_path: History of the holiday in United States
section_name: History of the holiday in United States
paragraph_text: History of the holiday in United States
  
  Remembrance of Cinco de Mayo, began, in the 1860s, by Latinos in California, Nevada, and Oregon, in the context of the Latino experience of the Mexican Independence Day, Mexican Declaration of Independence, and the American Civil War in the Far West and Mexico.
  
  The Chicano movement began commemorating Cinco de Mayo in the second half of the twentieth century.
  
  According to David E. Hayes-Bautista, author of El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition, there is evidence that, in 1862, the same year the battle took place, the Mexican community in California started celebrating the victory of Cinco de Mayo. La Voz de Méjico (San Francisco, California, Spanish, 1862–1866) published detailed accounts of the battle. On 7 June 1862, La Voz de Méjico reported that a Cinco de Mayo celebration took place on May 22 in the town of Columbia, California. Attendees toasted to their fellow Mexican's victory and sang patriotic songs.
  
  Back in California, Mexican Americans followed the news in Spanish language newspapers and were thrilled by Mexico's victory. It led them to form political organizations — Juntas Patrióticas Mejicanas — which met monthly and raised money to send to Mexico's President Juarez to aid his fight against the French. There would eventually be 129 Juntas, mostly in California. When the groups got together, speakers used the Battle of Puebla as a rallying cry to fight for democracy, Hayes-Bautista said. The first Cinco de Mayo commemorations were held in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1863 with parades, speakers and music.
  
  A year after, in 1863, 45 Mexican American women organized to provide aid to those affected by the continuing French-Mexican War going on at the time. They called their group the Junta Patriótica de las Señoras de Sonora (a town founded by miners from Sonora, Mexico), specifically, in the 1850s. Columbia was its next door neighbor, and there were many Mexican miners living there, too.), which translates to Ladies’ Patriotic Assembly of Sonora, and they would hold Cinco de Mayo celebrations each year for a time to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over occupying French forces at the first Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
  
  According to "Cinco de Mayo's First Seventy-Five Years in Alta California: From Spontaneous Behavior to Sedimented Memory, 1862 to 1937." by David E. Hayes-Bautista and Cynthia L. Chamberlin, published in the Southern California Quarterly, by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in California in 1863 in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. "Far up in the gold country town of Columbia (now Columbia State Park) Mexican miners were so overjoyed at the news that they spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches."
  
  A 2007 UCLA Newsroom article notes that "the holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico." Time magazine reports that "Cinco de Mayo started to come into vogue in 1940s America during the rise of the Chicano Movement." The holiday crossed over from California into the rest of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s but did not gain popularity until the 1980s when marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it. It grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican-American populations, like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, New York, followed by Cleveland, Boston, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Dallas, San Antonio, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Denver, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Tucson, San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego.
  
  In a 1998 study in the Journal of American Culture it was reported that there were more than 120 official US celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in 21 different states. An update in 2006 found that the number of official Cinco de Mayo events was 150 or more, according to José Alamillo, a professor of ethnic studies at Washington State University in Pullman, who has studied the cultural impact of Cinco de Mayo north of the border. Los Angeles' Fiesta Broadway has been billed as the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, which it most certainly was at its peak in the 1990s when it attracted crowds of 500,000 or more. In recent years attendance has seen a dramatic decrease.
  
  On June 7, 2005, the United States Congress issued a concurrent resolution calling on the President of the United States (George W. Bush) to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo with appropriate ceremonies and activities. To celebrate, many display Cinco de Mayo banners while school districts hold special events to educate students about its historical significance. Special events and celebrations highlight Mexican culture, especially in its music and regional dancing. Examples include baile folklórico and mariachi demonstrations held annually at the Plaza del Pueblo de Los Ángeles, near Olvera Street. Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and services, with an emphasis on alcoholic beverages, foods, and music. According to Nielsen, in 2013 more than $600 million worth of beer was purchased in the United States for Cinco de Mayo, more than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick's Day.
  
  The May 4, 2023 edition of The Washington Post published an article describing the holiday of Cinco de Mayo as an American holiday with Mexican roots and not necessarily a Mexican holiday.
  
  Remembrance of Cinco de Mayo, began, in the 1860s, by Latinos in California, Nevada, and Oregon, in the context of the Latino experience of the Mexican Independence Day, Mexican Declaration of Independence, and the American Civil War in the Far West and Mexico.
  
  The Chicano movement began commemorating Cinco de Mayo in the second half of the twentieth century.
  
  According to David E. Hayes-Bautista, author of El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition, there is evidence that, in 1862, the same year the battle took place, the Mexican community in California started celebrating the victory of Cinco de Mayo. La Voz de Méjico (San Francisco, California, Spanish, 1862–1866) published detailed accounts of the battle. On 7 June 1862, La Voz de Méjico reported that a Cinco de Mayo celebration took place on May 22 in the town of Columbia, California. Attendees toasted to their fellow Mexican's victory and sang patriotic songs.
  
  Back in California, Mexican Americans followed the news in Spanish language newspapers and were thrilled by Mexico's victory. It led them to form political organizations — Juntas Patrióticas Mejicanas — which met monthly and raised money to send to Mexico's President Juarez to aid his fight against the French. There would eventually be 129 Juntas, mostly in California. When the groups got together, speakers used the Battle of Puebla as a rallying cry to fight for democracy, Hayes-Bautista said. The first Cinco de Mayo commemorations were held in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1863 with parades, speakers and music.
  
  A year after, in 1863, 45 Mexican American women organized to provide aid to those affected by the continuing French-Mexican War going on at the time. They called their group the Junta Patriótica de las Señoras de Sonora (a town founded by miners from Sonora, Mexico), specifically, in the 1850s. Columbia was its next door neighbor, and there were many Mexican miners living there, too.), which translates to Ladies’ Patriotic Assembly of Sonora, and they would hold Cinco de Mayo celebrations each year for a time to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over occupying French forces at the first Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
  
  According to "Cinco de Mayo's First Seventy-Five Years in Alta California: From Spontaneous Behavior to Sedimented Memory, 1862 to 1937." by David E. Hayes-Bautista and Cynthia L. Chamberlin, published in the Southern California Quarterly, by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on that day first started in California in 1863 in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico. "Far up in the gold country town of Columbia (now Columbia State Park) Mexican miners were so overjoyed at the news that they spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches."
  
  A 2007 UCLA Newsroom article notes that "the holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico." Time magazine reports that "Cinco de Mayo started to come into vogue in 1940s America during the rise of the Chicano Movement." The holiday crossed over from California into the rest of the United States in the 1950s and 1960s but did not gain popularity until the 1980s when marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it. It grew in popularity and evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, first in areas with large Mexican-American populations, like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, New York, followed by Cleveland, Boston, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Dallas, San Antonio, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Denver, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Tucson, San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego.
  
  In a 1998 study in the Journal of American Culture it was reported that there were more than 120 official US celebrations of Cinco de Mayo in 21 different states. An update in 2006 found that the number of official Cinco de Mayo events was 150 or more, according to José Alamillo, a professor of ethnic studies at Washington State University in Pullman, who has studied the cultural impact of Cinco de Mayo north of the border. Los Angeles' Fiesta Broadway has been billed as the largest Cinco de Mayo celebration in the world, which it most certainly was at its peak in the 1990s when it attracted crowds of 500,000 or more. In recent years attendance has seen a dramatic decrease.
  
  On June 7, 2005, the United States Congress issued a concurrent resolution calling on the President of the United States (George W. Bush) to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe Cinco de Mayo with appropriate ceremonies and activities. To celebrate, many display Cinco de Mayo banners while school districts hold special events to educate students about its historical significance. Special events and celebrations highlight Mexican culture, especially in its music and regional dancing. Examples include baile folklórico and mariachi demonstrations held annually at the Plaza del Pueblo de Los Ángeles, near Olvera Street. Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration, advertising Mexican products and services, with an emphasis on alcoholic beverages, foods, and music. According to Nielsen, in 2013 more than $600 million worth of beer was purchased in the United States for Cinco de Mayo, more than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick's Day.
  
  The May 4, 2023 edition of The Washington Post published an article describing the holiday of Cinco de Mayo as an American holiday with Mexican roots and not necessarily a Mexican holiday.