EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Cinco de Mayo in downtown El Paso was marked this year with a community event that also served as a protest, blending cultural celebration with concerns about U.S. policy.
El Chuco Habla, an El Paso grassroots organization, held a Cinco de Mayo commemoration on Tuesday at San Jacinto Plaza.
Organizers said the gathering included speakers, music, and cultural performances to highlight the theme, “Cinco de Mayo: A Day of Struggle Against Imperialism: 1862 and 2026.”
The event served as a commemoration of the 164th anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, when, according to organizers, 3,000 “ill-equipped, untrained volunteers, many who were armed only with machetes” defeated “a well-equipped and trained army of 7,000 troops of the French Empire” in Puebla, Mexico, on May 5, 1862.
Oscar Lozano of El Chuco Habla said Cinco de Mayo is “not just about celebrating the festive date but also to commemorate the historic battle that took place at Puebla in 1862 cinco de Mayo, where Mexican forces successfully stopped a French invading army that was trying to take over Mexico– sent over by Napoleon the 3rd.”
El Chuco Habla said the event also served as a way to speak out against what it describes as current threats to Mexico’s sovereignty, including statements by the Trump administration about using military intervention in Mexico to “dismantle the drug cartels.”
Organizers also said the event was intended to raise awareness and bring the community together.
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