Cinco de Mayo Party

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the bravery and victory of a small, outnumbered army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

Previous to the Battle of Puebla, Mexico finally gained independence from Spain, endured the Mexican-American War, and experienced a Mexican Civil War. Due to the wars and the political takeovers, Mexico’s national economy was ruined.

During Mexico’s struggle they accrued large debts that they were unable to repay. France demanded their money and invaded at the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The French army marched toward Mexico City.

When the French army reached the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe they encountered a strong, poorly armed militia. The malitia, consisting of 4,500 men, defeated the French army of 6,500 soldiers. This Battle of Puebla helped establish the much needed sense of national unity and is the cause for the May 5th celebration known as Cinco de Mayo.

Invitations-

1. search the BestPartyEver.com directory to find invitations in your area.
2. send the invitations a month in advance.
3. you may consider sending invitations via the internet. Evite.com is easy to use and free.

Food-

1. search BestPartyEver.com to find Mexican restaurants that cater.
2. If caterering does not interest you, try these delicious menu items. quesadillas, fajitas, rice, salsa, guacamole. Don’t forget the tortillas, sour cream, canned black beans (drained),and the sauted strips of green peppers, red peppers, and onions for the fajitas. Also, corn chips and salsa make an easy appetizer.

Drinks-

1. Mexican beer with lime wedges
2. Margaritas- Strawberry Margaritas, Classic Margarita, Mango Margarita

Activities-

1. Fill a Pinata with authentic Mexican candy. You can find this candy at your local Mexican grocery store.

Music-

1. Hire mariachis or
2. You may want to consider purchasing a latin mixed CD from your local music store.

Decorations-

1. Use bright colors such as red, white, green, and yellow.
2. Find local party supply stores using the BestPartyEver.com directory. While at the party supply store consider palm trees, cactus, maracas, chili peppers, and somberos.

Party Favors-

1. Providing party favors to your guests will help to make the event more memorable. Consider somberos and maracas that have the host name, type of party, and the year printed on them.

Photo by: bookish in north park on Flickr
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en-us