National Holidays

Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo: with Fiestas, Music, and Dance

This picture-book-sized title in the Holidays around  the World series combines a clear, read-aloud–friendly text with big, beautiful color photos.

After introducing Cinco de Mayo’s 1862 origins, Otto shows and tells how the celebration has become an annual, joyous festival of Mexican culture, both north and south of the border. The photos, primarily of U.S. celebrations, offer colorful views of fiestas, musicians, dance, food, and parades.

Excellent back matter includes a bibliography, recipes, a glossary, and an informative afterword, aimed at adult readers, about the holiday’s place in Latino culture. Grades 1-4. –Hazel Rochman

Product Description

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo continues National Geographic’s spectacular Holidays Around the World series with this joyous feast of Mexican culture—an annual event in Mexico and an increasingly popular holiday in America as well. Many mistakenly assume that the fifth of May is Mexico’s Independence Day. In fact, the date marks the anniversary of a famous 1862 battle in which the Mexicans defeated the French. Known as the Battle of Puebla, the victory marked a watershed in Mexican pride and unity that echoes down to the present day.

With succinct text and dazzling photography, Celebrate Cinco de Mayo takes readers on a journey to discover the rich variety of celebrations across our country—from Texas to Minnesota to New York. This inviting book gives readers a flavor of the wide range of colorful holiday traditions: parades and pageants; races and rodeos; mariachi music and dancing; parties with piñatas and delicious Mexican foods. Children will learn how the largest Cinco de Mayo event in the world, the Fiesta Broadway, actually takes place in the United States, and attracts more than 600,000 revelers each year.

Mexico is our closest neighbor and the birthplace of America’s largest immigrant community; a knowledge of Mexican culture and history is increasingly relevant to students across the United States.

Cinco de Mayo: Yesterday and Today

Grade 2-4 This holiday commemorates a battle in which outnumbered Mexican troops managed to defeat the invading French at Puebla in 1862. This book presents a simplified account of the battle, based on war reports from the Mexican army, interspersed with information about the reenactment held each year in San Miguel Tlaixpan. The illustrations consist of hand-colored French and Mexican engravings along with full-color photographs of a contemporary celebration. There is some confusion resulting from the shifts between past and present. Dianne MacMillan’s Mexican Independence Day and Cinco de Mayo (Enslow, 1997), which is illustrated with photographs, gives a more detailed account of both the battle and the holiday. Pam Gosner, formerly at Maplewood Memorial Library, NJ

Review of Cinco de Mayo: Yesterday and Today

Illustrated with historical engravings and photographs of a contemporary reenactment, this book provides a basic explanation of the Mexican national celebration of Cinco de Mayo and the Battle of Puebla that it commemorates. Be aware that this is a translation, originally published in Mexico for an audience of Mexican children. Only the information on the flaps of the book jacket and in the short summary explanation on the final page seems to have been adjusted for a wider audience. References to unfamiliar Mexican figures and patriotic statements such as “our country, Mexico,” and “We won!” may make this book somewhat awkward for U.S. students to use. However, Cinco de Mayo is increasingly celebrated in the U.S. by Mexican communities, and source material is extremely difficult to locate, especially illustrated and at a basic level. Recommended for purchase where needed. Annie Ayres

Cinco De Mayo: Celebrating the Traditions of Mexico

This colorful photo-essay introduces Rosie, whose family celebrates their Mexican-American traditions in California. After discussing Benito Juárez, the history of Cinco de Mayo, and three major waves of immigration from Mexico, Hoyt-Goldsmith presents elements of Rosie’s heritage such as food, language, and mariachi music. Rosie performs a dance during her California community’s Cinco de Mayo festivities, and the book concludes with scenes from a parade that day, followed by a family barbacoa (barbecue) with traditional foods. The clearly written text and the many fine, color photos provide readers with information as well as glimpses of life in Rosie’s community. Small cut-paper silhouettes in solid colors add a distinctive note to the festive-looking pages. A glossary of Spanish words and a map of Mexico are appended. A reader-friendly introduction to the holiday. Grades 3-5. –Carolyn Phelan

Description

Every Cinco de Mayo, Rosa and her family cheer at a parade and enjoy delicious Mexican food. But what exactly is Cinco de Mayo? Although many people think May fifth marks Mexico’s independence, the holiday is actually the anniversary of a decisive battle against foreign occupiers. Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by many. Follow Rosa, a vivacious Mexican-American girl from California, as she learns about he heritage and celebrates the holiday with her family, friends, and community.