The actual history — Battle of Puebla
May 5, 1862. Mexican army vs French invasion force. Mexican victory at Puebla. NOT Mexican independence (Sept 16, 1810).
Q1.In what year was the Battle of Puebla fought?Tap to reveal
Answer: 1862
The battle was only an early episode of the French intervention in Mexico, which dragged on until 1867.
Q2.Which European country's army did Mexico defeat at the Battle of Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: France
Britain and Spain had landed troops alongside the French in Veracruz but withdrew before the fighting began.
Q3.Who commanded the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: Ignacio Zaragoza
Zaragoza died of typhoid fever in September of the same year, and the city was renamed Puebla de Zaragoza in his honor.
Q4.Which Mexican president was in office when the Battle of Puebla took place?Tap to reveal
Answer: Benito Juárez
Juárez had suspended payments on Mexico's foreign debt in 1861, which France used as the pretext for invading.
Q5.Which French ruler ordered the military intervention in Mexico?Tap to reveal
Answer: Napoleon III
He went on to install the Austrian archduke Maximilian as emperor of Mexico, and Maximilian was executed by firing squad in 1867.
Q6.Which future Mexican president commanded a brigade at the Battle of Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: Porfirio Díaz
Díaz was already a brigadier general at 31 and later ruled Mexico for more than three decades, a period known as the Porfiriato.
Q7.Which two hilltop forts anchored the Mexican defensive line at Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: Loreto and Guadalupe
The forts still stand in a park called Los Fuertes and now house a museum about the battle.
Q8.Who commanded the French forces that were defeated at Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: Charles de Lorencez
The French returned under a new commander in 1863 and took Puebla after a siege lasting about two months.
US vs Mexico — different celebrations
US: massive party, Mexican-American pride. Mexico: minimal observation, only state of Puebla celebrates broadly.
Q1.Which country holds more Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the United States or Mexico?Tap to reveal
Answer: The United States
Outside the state of Puebla, most Mexicans treat May 5 as an ordinary working day.
Q2.Cinco de Mayo is frequently mistaken for which Mexican holiday celebrated on September 16?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mexican Independence Day
Mexico's independence struggle began in 1810 with Miguel Hidalgo's Grito de Dolores, more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla.
Q3.Is Cinco de Mayo a nationwide statutory holiday in Mexico?Tap to reveal
Answer: No
It is an official holiday only at the state level, in Puebla and neighboring Veracruz, so banks and offices elsewhere in Mexico generally stay open.
Q4.What do costumed participants in the city of Puebla stage every May 5 to mark the anniversary?Tap to reveal
Answer: A reenactment of the battle
The city also holds a military parade and its annual state fair, the Feria de Puebla, is timed around the same date.
Q5.By what formal name is the holiday known in Mexico?Tap to reveal
Answer: Día de la Batalla de Puebla
Mexicans also say Cinco de Mayo, but the formal name spells out the 1862 battle rather than the date, and the official commemoration is mostly a military parade.
Q6.In which US state did Mexican-American communities hold the earliest recorded Cinco de Mayo celebrations, back in the 1860s?Tap to reveal
Answer: California
Historian David Hayes-Bautista traced these celebrations to Latinos who backed Juárez against the French while the US Civil War was under way.
Q7.Which movement of the 1960s and 1970s revived Cinco de Mayo in the US as a celebration of Mexican-American identity?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Chicano movement
Activists presented the victory at Puebla as a symbol of resistance to foreign domination.
Q8.Which US city hosts Fiesta Broadway, a large downtown Cinco de Mayo street festival first held in 1990?Tap to reveal
Answer: Los Angeles
During its 1990s peak the festival drew crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands to Broadway.
Food and drink traditions
Margaritas, mole poblano (the dish from Puebla), tacos, guacamole. Cinco de Mayo as a Mexican food celebration.
Q1.Which avocado-based dip is one of the most consumed foods in the US on Cinco de Mayo?Tap to reveal
Answer: Guacamole
The name comes from the Nahuatl word ahuacamolli, meaning avocado sauce.
Q2.Which agave-based spirit forms the base of a classic margarita?Tap to reveal
Answer: Tequila
By law tequila must be made from blue Weber agave, and most of it is produced in the state of Jalisco.
Q3.Which cinnamon-sugar dusted fried dough pastry is a popular Cinco de Mayo dessert?Tap to reveal
Answer: Churros
Churros came to Mexico from Spain and are traditionally dipped in thick hot chocolate.
Q4.Which rich sauce made with chiles, chocolate and dozens of other ingredients is the signature dish of Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mole poblano
A popular legend credits its invention to nuns at the Santa Rosa convent in Puebla, though the story is folklore rather than documented history.
Q5.What beer cocktail made with Mexican lager, lime juice and savory sauces is served in a salt-rimmed glass?Tap to reveal
Answer: Michelada
A plain chelada is just beer, lime and salt, while the michelada adds hot sauce and other seasonings.
Q6.Which smoky agave spirit is traditionally made in Oaxaca by roasting agave hearts in earthen pits?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mezcal
Tequila is technically a type of mezcal, but it is steamed rather than pit-roasted, which is why it lacks the smoky flavor.
Q7.What is Puebla's signature sandwich, served on a sesame-seed roll?Tap to reveal
Answer: Cemita
A classic cemita is filled with breaded milanesa, stringy quesillo cheese, avocado and the pungent herb papalo.
Q8.Nachos were invented in 1943 in which Mexican border city?Tap to reveal
Answer: Piedras Negras
Restaurant worker Ignacio Nacho Anaya improvised the dish for a group of US military wives visiting from Eagle Pass, Texas.
Pop culture and modern celebrations
Parades, mariachi music, Mexican-American film + TV moments. The cultural exchange between US and Mexico.
Q1.Which Mexican music style with trumpets, violins and guitars is a staple of Cinco de Mayo parties?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mariachi
UNESCO added mariachi to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.
Q2.What decorated candy-filled figure do party guests break open with a stick at many Cinco de Mayo celebrations?Tap to reveal
Answer: Piñata
The traditional seven-pointed star piñata was used by Spanish missionaries to represent the seven deadly sins.
Q3.Cinco de Mayo falls one day after which pop-culture fan holiday?Tap to reveal
Answer: Star Wars Day
May 4 gets its name from the pun May the Fourth be with you, and some fans jokingly call May 5 Revenge of the Fifth.
Q4.Which Mexican boxer has turned fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas into an annual tradition?Tap to reveal
Answer: Canelo Álvarez
Oscar De La Hoya made the same weekend his own before him, including his 2007 bout against Floyd Mayweather on May 5.
Q5.What is the proper name of the folk dance often called the Mexican hat dance, performed at countless Cinco de Mayo events?Tap to reveal
Answer: Jarabe Tapatío
Mexico declared it the national dance in 1924, and Tapatío refers to someone from Guadalajara.
Q6.What 2013 Mexican film directed by Rafael Lara dramatized the Battle of Puebla?Tap to reveal
Answer: Cinco de Mayo: La Batalla
With a budget of about 9 million dollars it was billed as the most expensive Mexican-financed film ever made, and it opened in Mexico on May 3, two days before the holiday.
Hosting Cinco de Mayo trivia
Cinco de Mayo trivia is great at restaurants and parties. Mix history (universal) with food (everyone has favorites). Avoid stereotypes.
Trivio.NET has Cinco de Mayo packs in the Holidays & Events category.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexican Independence Day?
No — that's September 16. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla (1862) against French invasion.
Is Cinco de Mayo celebrated in Mexico?
Only minimally — primarily in the state of Puebla. The US celebrates it more than Mexico does.
Where can I find Cinco de Mayo trivia packs?
Trivio.NET's Holidays & Events category has Cinco de Mayo packs.
What's the most-missed Cinco de Mayo trivia?
It's NOT Mexican Independence Day. It's NOT widely celebrated in Mexico. Many assume both.
