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| Puebla, Mexico |
🇲🇽 Contrary to what most Americans think they know, Cinco de Mayo isn't Mexican independence day. It is a commemoration of the Battle of Puebla when the Mexican army routed the French army in 1862. This was a tragic period in Mexican history when European powers (Spain, France, and Britain) were trying to force Mexico into paying reparations for imagined harm against foreign citizens. When Mexico couldn't pay these imposed debts, European powers intervened. Spain and Britain eventually withdrew, leaving France to try alone to set up a puppet Mexican régime. Though slowed at Puebla, Napoleon III eventually installed a Hapsburg "emperor" in Mexico City in 1864. This state of affairs lasted until 1867 when the Mexicans deposed and executed the European interloper.
This is my favorite version of the Mexican national anthem. It's by Pepe Villa.
