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Anne Schrager April 29, 2021Updated: May 6, 2021, 7:41 am
Tiny hats on sale at the 2015 Cinco de Mayo Festival in San Francisco. Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle 2016
The midpoint of spring is approaching, and that means it’s time for Cinco de Mayo. Observed annually on May 5, the holiday celebrates a battle in which a vastly outnumbered, ragtag Mexican army, assembled by the young Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated invading French troops in 1862.
The holiday was first celebrated in the Gold Rush town of Columbia (Tuolumne County), a familiar sight to many who grew up attending California public schools. Mexican miners living there honored the underdog victory with a feast, though that year’s celebration was held after the town first heard the news on May 25.