A Different Kind of Holiday

Do you know what happened on May the fifth in 1862
In Mexico? Well, the answer may come as a big surprise to you.
It wasn’t their independence day; that came in 1810,
And Mexico had had several other major wars since then.
No, Cinco de Mayo commemorates a battle not with Spain.
The French had come to collect on debts and noticed land to gain.
The Battle of Puebla soon ensued, and sure enough, Mexico won,
But a siege next year defeated it. So why should the day be fun?
You have to know that Mexico had had little hope of success,
With half as big an army and poor equipment; what a mess.
The underdogs discovered they could be the winning side,
And that became a point of Mexican patriotic pride.