Prof says Cinco de Mayo is not a Mexican holiday

Cinco de Mayo has become a commercial juggernaut and touchpoint to "celebrate" Mexican culture, i.e., drink oneself silly on margaritas and stuff one's belly full of corn chips. Now there's news that it may not even be Mexican.

While Mexican forces did repel a French army on May 5, 1862, a California professor notes that on that same day, Latinos in the American West created "Cinco de Mayo" as a rallying cry for the Union in the exploding Civil War. Why? Supporters of Mexico's nascent democracy felt that a Confederate victory would imperil its own self-rule. Just some food for thought today, as you're going to need a full stomach to handle all those Coronas.