Cinco de Mayo
The Meaning of May 5
History of Cinco De Mayo
Las Flores/The Flowers
Maya Math
We will always remember with just pride this immortal date which recalls the glorious triumph of Mexico over the French army. First in the world of those times, the French army thought to conquer the country with the greatest of ease, and paid dearly for its audacity. What was the motive of such a scheme?
At that time, Mexico's reputation in the world was low because of its bad government officials. First, these officials advertised the riches of Mexico to the world. These descriptions attracted the interest of the great European powers. Then, these Mexican officials provided the excuse for foreign intervention by suspending temporarily the payment of debts contracted with England, France, and Spain. When Mexico did not pay, these countries demanded money or territory as a guarantee against future payment. The English were not interested in territory; they were interested in recovering their money. They did not care who recovered it for them. The dispute among the powers was over who should do the "recovering". The choice was between Spain and France. Spain, having lost Mexico early in the century1 was the more determined to intervene. But, Napoleon Ill of France saw in Mexico what he thought was an easy way to add luster to the French arms. From intervention, he could come away with part of Mexico's national territory--Sonora and Lower California--where a French colony could be established. Further, he could establish a monarchical government in Mexico (he had noted the influence of some powerful Mexicans who desired a monarch and who would accept it very willingly).
Laurences, who commanded the French Army, arrived at Vera Cruz on March 5, 1862, and wrote to his government immediately assuring it that the conquest of Mexico would be an easy thing.
The illustrious Benito Juarez dedicated himself to the defense of the country and exhorted all Mexicans to forget any differences of opinion and unite in the common defense. He was a man in the right, he knew what to do and did what had to be done.
Spain and England withdrew from the intervention when they saw what was happening. Only France continued in the undertaking.
General Don Ignacio Zaragoza was commandant of the Mexican forces. On May 5, 1862, a date never to be forgotten in Mexican history, the first real battle took place. The invader was humiliated and defeated. The battle immortalized the names of Zaragoza and his aides: Negrete, Berriozabal, Diaz, Mendez, Lamadrid, Escobedo, and Martinez. It was demonstrated that in this encounter at Puebla the invaders were not invincible. The Mexicans could and did, defeat them.
The revolts of the early nineteenth century led by Hidalgo and Moralos were directed against the power that Spain and the church held aver the Indian and Meztizo. These events led to the Independence of Mexico from Spain in 1814. Nevertheless, the wealth of the country was still concentrated in the bands of a few individuals and the Indian population was subject to abuses from government officials and the church.
During the 1840's, Benito Juarez, a Zapotec Indian began his political work in Oaxaca. Juarez became governor in 1847, but wag exiled to New Orleans in 1853 because of big statements about the corrupt activities of General Santa Anna and the need for reform. He is known as the "Abraham Lincoln of Mexico" because of big commitment to equality for all Mexicans. In 1861, Benito triumphantly returned to Mexico as president, to institute the Constitution of 1857 and the laws which removed privileges and political power from the hands of the church.
One of Benito Juarez' first actions as President was to suspend the interest payments on foreign debts. This angered the European powers, and France saw this as an opportunity to intervene. Napoleon III hoped to be able to control all of Mexico and the liberal forces of Juarez. French forces occupied Veracruz by the end of 1861. On May 5,1862, General Zaragoza and his Mexican forces defeated the French in a battle at Puesbla. This battle has come to symbolize the strength and determination of the Mexican people and is celebrated every year as Cinco de Mayo.
The flower plays a very important part in the lives and cultures in Mexico The Mexican's love of color and pageantry in addition to the importance of tradition make the flower a natural part of their existence.
The marigold (calandula, maravilla, zempasuchitl) is always used on the altar or in the celebration of "El Dia de los Muertos" (The Day of the Dead). It is the flower of eternity and a special part in remembering the loved ones who have died.
The red rose is another flower of importance as it was the red rose that convinced the Bishop to build a church for "La Virgen de Guadalupe." La rosa roja (red rose) was a sign given to Juan Diego to take to the Obispo (Bishop) by The Virgen as it was the wrong season for the roses to bloom and it was, therefore, a miracle.
On El Dia de los Madres (Mother's Day), the flower again plays an important part in the celebrations. People whose mother is alive, wear red flowers and those whose mother is dead, wear white flowers.
Las Bodas and La Quincenera are two more events that use flowers extensively. The wedding and the fifteenth birthday celebration for the girls use many white flowers. The fifteen year old girl is ushered through boughs of flowers that are held as arches by her friends as she celebrates her entrance into womanhood.
These are but a few ways that the flower is part of the traditions of Mexico. The color and beauty are a natural way for the Mexican to express himself and to lend another part to the fullness and celebrations so vital to the culture.
The wheels of time to the Maya were very exact. They were basically used to predict the seasons for the farmers and the astronomical events for the religious rites. For this they used a calendar of two meshings thereby repeating cycles. Maya mathematicians could project this calendar millions of years into the future and the future; therefore, time had no beginning or end.
The Maya used a system of bar sand dots. A dot equals one and a bar equals five. The smaller wheels represented the 260-day Sacred Round. The inner wheel, with the numbers one to thirteen, meshes with the glyphs for the 20 day name on the outer wheel which represents the 365-day calendar -18 months of 20 days each. The remaining five days at the end of the year were considered evil.
