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A late-1980s marketing campaign from the Corona beer company turned Cinco de Mayo into the day in which Americans consume the most beer, topping even St. Patrick s Day and Super Bowl Sunday.
Indeed, America s obsession with alcohol has taken over other holidays, too, but May 5 is certainly among the dates most hijacked by the country s love of drinking.
Here are five other things you may not have known about Cinco de Mayo:
What It Actually Observes:
Cinco de Mayo observes the date of the battle of Puebla in 1862, when the outnumbered Mexican army defeated the powerful French, who were occupying the area seeking unpaid debts. A common misconception confuses the holiday with Mexican Independence Day, which is Sept. 16. The country had already gained its independence from Spain years before the battle of Puebla, which was part of a war the Mexican army historians consider lost to the French.