You are cordially invited to celebrate 5 de Mayo this year with a wonderful fiesta in downtown Vallejo , come out and enjoy our life entertainment, Ballet Folklorico, Solo singers, banda music, vendors, Mexican food, vendors, kids entertainment and much more.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s unexpected victory over France in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The conflict between the two countries had begun in 1861, after Benito Juárez, then the president of Mexico, suspended the nation’s foreign debt payments, and Napoleon III responded by sending French troops to invade. The victory in Puebla galvanized the Mexican forces but turned out to be short-lived, and France later occupied the country, installing Maximilian I as emperor.

Not until 1867 did the new Mexican Republic finally expel the French, execute Maximilian I and regain control of the country. When and where is Cinco de Mayo celebrated? Cinco de Mayo literally means “May 5” in Spanish, which is when this celebration of Mexican heritage falls each year. The day, mostly commemorated by Mexican Americans north of the U.S. border, is also celebrated in Puebla, the town and region southeast of Mexico City, where the holiday originated.