Cinco de Mayo

No, today is not a Latino holiday. It is a Mexican holiday, sort of. It is actually becoming more of a holiday in the United States like St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, or Chinese New Year. It is a celebration of our diversity as a nation. It is not Mexican Independence Day, either. Here, from Wikipedia:

[Cinco de Mayo] is primarily a regional and not an obligatory federal holiday in Mexico. The holiday commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day; Mexico's Independence Day is actually September 16, which is the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

Two years ago on Boston.com spoke to the historically low priority of the holiday in Mexico:

It may surprise some to learn that Cinco de Mayo is not even a federal holiday in México. Banks and government offices are open. Restaurant menus remain the same. And companies don't splurge on ad campaigns named ''Cinco to Drinko" featuring talking piñatas.

He of course went on to say that the American-style Cinco de Mayo isn't for her:

[A]las, beer companies and big advertising spending recognized the day's marketing potential. I know we Mexicans aren't alone bemoaning hijacked holidays: an Irish friend of mine says the same thing happened here to St. Patrick's Day.

However,...I feel the urge to set the record straight: there is much more to Cinco de Mayo --and my home country-- than Dos Equis and sombreros one day of the year.

Which is why I'll spend [Cinco de Mayo] just like any other day of the week: cooking with my two Mexican roommates in Brighton, watching the Univisión newscast, and talking on the phone with my mother and sisters about my week.