By Craig Horleman

For Carlos Estrada, a first-generation Mexican living Downstate, today’s Cinco de Mayo celebration is more than just drinking margaritas and eating the food that comes from the rich culture.

Although he is the owner of La Hacienda Mexican Restaurants in Dover and Milford, he values the history of the day over beer specials and brightly colored costumes.

One misconception of the holiday that people seem to have, he said, is that it marks Mexican independence. It does not. That day is Sept. 16.

He explains that Cinco de Mayo marks a battle against France when that country tried invade Mexico for the first time in 1862. The French ended up landing in Veracruz and marching toward the Capitol. The people from the state of Puebla made a stand and defeated the French army, which was, at that point, one of the most powerful armies in the world.

“They underestimated the Mexican forces,” Mr. Estrada said.

“The forces (under the leadership of Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza) were made up of soldiers and a lot of peasants that worked the fields and things like that. So they kind of underestimated how hard they were going to fight. So the first time that the French came to Puebla, they retreated and ended up losing the battle, and that battle was won in Mexico, and that’s why it’s a holiday now.”

A year after the battle, Napoleon III sent a larger French force in to defeat the Mexican army at the Second Battle of Puebla, and Mexico City soon fell to the invaders.

“The second battle is not what everyone talks about. But the French ended up getting to the Capitol and they overthrew the president,” Mr. Estrada said.

“The French imposed a monarchy in Mexico, and Maximilian was crowned the monarch at that time.”

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has been celebrated annually since 1863, when events started to spring up in California.

“For some reason, it got really big in California. I guess there were a lot of people from Puebla living there, and they made that a holiday, and it grew from there. And now, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo everywhere, like St. Patrick’s Day,” Mr. Estrada said.

Mr. Estrada’s family lived in Mexico until 1989, when he was 12. His father is from Mexico City, and his mother is from Michoacán in western Mexico.

He said Cinco de Mayo is not marked across the country in Mexico.

“It’s not celebrated in all of the Mexican states. It’s celebrated in places where the battle happened. But it’s not a national holiday like Independence Day is here, where its celebrated in every state,” he said.

Normally, Mr. Estrada would celebrate Cinco de Mayo at his restaurants with games, specials and lots of food, but the pandemic has put a damper on that.

Last year, the Dover restaurant was offering takeout only, and this year, staffing shortages are causing him to go a little more low-key. But he says the Dover location at 1171 S. Bay Road will still recognize it in various small ways Wedbesday.