What Cinco de Mayo Looked Like in Vintage Los Angeles
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday commemorating just one event: The Battle of Puebla, which was a day of victory for the Mexican army against the French in 1862. Over 150 years later, people still mistake the holiday for Mexican Independence Day which is September 16. Today, Cinco de Mayo has come to be a general celebration of Mexican-American culture.
In Los Angeles, which was, of course, once upon a time part of Mexico, the holiday was once a day of civic pageantry. Here are some images from our photo collection that show celebrations from 1920s to the 1970s, when dancers, musicians, political figures, and everyday Angelenos gathered in the community to pay tribute to the area's rich Mexican culture and heritage.
