Cinco de Mayo: What to Know – What to Eat!

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Time to help our our neighbors south of the border celebrate their independence day. Or is it? Here’s the straight scoop: Use this information to see if you can entice the stranger at the next bar stool into betting you a margarita!

  • Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexican independence day: That’s September 16th.
  • Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, waged against the French in 1862. A poorly armed group of about 4,500 men were able to stop the 8,000-strong French invasion.
  • Cinco de Mayo isn’t all that popular in Mexico: While it is a national holiday, it’s observed mainly in Puebla.
  • The largest Cinco de Mayo event in the world isn’t in Mexico. The Festival de Fiesta Broadway, held in Los Angeles, typically draws more than 500,000 revelers. Events in Denver and St. Paul, Minnesota, also draw hundreds of thousands.

And if you’re not going to celebrate Cinco de Mayo by going out this year, what better way to join the fun that with tasty treats for only pesos per serving?

  • AllYou.com offers five Mexican recipes for less than $2 per serving, including enchiladas, Mexican eggs with beans, Mexican meatballs, chili, and pork carnitas. Don’t know how the food is, but the pictures look good enough to eat!
  • EatingWell.com also has recipes for Mexican meals for less than $2 per serving, but they don’t stop there: They offer 19 additional recipes you can prepare for less than $3 serving, including lime-jalapeno chicken, beef and bean chile verde, and Tijuana tortas.
  • Delish.com is also showing 10 Mexican meals for less than $3 per serving: Mexican potato omelets, crispy turkey tostadas, and more.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to our southern neighbors, as well as the many millions of Americans with Mexican heritage. Have a great day – and if you’re going out, be careful out there!

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