Cinco de Mayo: 5 Things Before Arlington Heights Celebrates

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Cinco de Mayo, observed on May 5 every year, has turned into a major American celebration of Mexican heritage, but its growing popularity in recent decades has centered on something completely unrelated to the holiday's original designation.

Alcohol.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on beer and other alcoholic beverages for the Cinco de Mayo holiday every year, peaking in 2018 when the holiday fell on a Saturday and coupled with the Kentucky Derby.

Tequila remains the preferred Cinco de Mayo alcoholic drink, with 126 liters of the drink consumed leading up to the date.

A late-1980s marketing campaign from the Corona beer company turned Cinco de Mayo into the day in which Americans consume the most beer, topping even St. Patrick’s Day and Super Bowl Sunday.

Indeed, America's obsession with alcohol has taken over other holidays, too, but May 5 is certainly among the dates most hijacked by the country's love of drinking.

Here are five other things you may not have known about Cinco de Mayo:

What It Actually Observes: Cinco de Mayo observes the date of the battle of Puebla in 1862, when the outnumbered Mexican army defeated the powerful French, who were occupying the area seeking unpaid debts. A common misconception confuses the holiday with Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 16. The country had already gained its independence from Spain years before the battle of Puebla, which was part of a war the Mexican army historians consider lost to the French.

While May 5 is an official holiday in Mexico, it isn’t celebrated there the way it is in the United States. Military parades have occurred over the years in Puebla marking the battle win, but celebrations are low-key or nonexistent throughout much of the country.

How It Got Big Here: Cinco de Mayo in the United States dates back to shortly after the battle of Puebla itself, as Mexican American communities in California would hold regular celebrations every year for decades. It didn’t expand outside the Golden State until the rise of the Chicano Movement in the 1960s, and finally ballooned to the drinking-associated holiday it is today when Corona introduced its 1989 marketing campaign.

Places to celebrate in Arlington Heights include:

• Mago Grill & Cantina, 115 W Campbell St., Arlington Heights
• Javier's Sabor Mexicano & Agave Bar, 8 W Miner St., Arlington Heights
• Salsa 17, 17 W Campbell St., Arlington Heights
• Fajitas House grill inc, 4204 N Arlington Heights Rd STE E, Arlington Heights
• Señor Pollo, 1257 N Rand Road, Arlington Heights

Biggest U.S. Celebrations Return: Los Angeles and Denver are among the American cities that held the largest Cinco de Mayo celebrations before the coronavirus pandemic.

As larger crowds gradually return in year No. 2 of the pandemic, Denver already held its annual celebration in the city’s Westwood neighborhood, with performers and attendees sporting masks this past weekend.

Los Angeles’ Fiesta Broadway Festival has, for years, been known as the nation’s largest Cinco de Mayo party. Although the number of attendees has varied, it still typically draws more than 200,000 to the streets of downtown Los Angeles.

Celebrate Without Stereotypes: Fake mustaches, sombreros and other depictions of Mexican American heritage can be offensive, according to a recent report on “how not to be racist” on Cinco de Mayo from the Houston Chronicle newspaper.

“Please leave the oversized sombreros and phony thick mustaches at the party store,” the report states. “There is no Cinco de Mayo dress code and your usual jeans and T-shirt will be just fine.”

Held a day after the Canadian-created “Star Wars Day,” Cinco de Mayo has certainly become more than just another excuse to drink. But with tequila as its most consumed beverage, those who do take in the day that way should celebrate safe, and may the “fifth” be with you.