Cinco de Mayo is a day on the calendar that needs an asterisk because it takes awhile to explain. Somewhere along the way we were wrongly taught that Cinco de Mayo is like July 4th for the USA. What we do know is that it's a very festive Mexican celebration every May 5th. There are plenty of Mexican celebration songs that work for Cinco de Mayo. The song that people instantly associate with Mexican celebrations is "La Bamba," which goes back centuries. It was popularized as a rock and roll hit by Richie Valens in the 1950s. The song came back as an even bigger hit for Los Lobos in the 1980s. Cinco de Mayo is actually a Mexican holiday that observes Mexico's victory over the French at the Battle of the Puebla on May 5, 1862. France had invaded Mexico in 1861. The upset victory generated enormous pride for Mexico. © Playlist Research. All rights reserved. |