Bunting in green, white and redThe colours of the flag of Mexico. Triangles on a curved line, repeating in that order.
A mariachi trumpetThe usual mariachi group has two trumpets. Three valves, a loop of tubing, a flared bell.
A window display of paper flags, flowers and a drawn trumpetPlan it as a drawing first: flags at the top, flowers in the corners, the trumpet in the middle.
A bookmark of stacked paper-flag panelsA tall strip of five squares, each with its own cut-out design and colour.
A calendar page reading 5 de Mayo 1862The date of the Battle of Puebla, which the day remembers. Tear-off page, big numeral.
A children's band with paper instrumentsCardboard trumpets, a shoebox guitar, a saucepan drum, all marching left to right.
A mariachi trumpetThe usual mariachi group has two trumpets. Three valves, a loop of tubing, a flared bell.
A piñata hanging from a rope between two treesA piñata is a decorated container filled with sweets. Draw the rope sagging, the piñata turning.
A plate of mole poblanoPuebla is famous for mole poblano. Mole is a sauce of chilli peppers, fruit, nuts and spices.
A street sign reading 5 de MayoIn 1862 a street in central Mexico City took the battle's name. A plain plate on a wall.
A string of papel picado across the top of the pagePapel picado is tissue paper cut into patterns and strung up for celebrations. Five panels, five colours.
A Talavera tile in blue on whiteTalavera is tin-glazed pottery from Puebla with a white base glaze. Much of it was decorated only in blue.
A trumpet pouring out flowers where the notes would beThe bell points up and right. Flowers and leaves stream from it, smaller as they go.
An invitation with a cut-paper top edgeScallop and pierce the top like papel picado. Day, time and place go on ruled lines below.
Big tissue paper flowers in a jarDraw each as a ruffled circle with darker folds toward the middle. Green paper stems.
Bunting in green, white and redThe colours of the flag of Mexico. Triangles on a curved line, repeating in that order.
Cascarones lined up in an egg boxCascarones are hollow eggshells filled with confetti and sealed with tissue paper. Six painted shells.
Cinco de Mayo lettered on a string of paper flagsOne letter per flag, with a gap for each space. Hang the string in a shallow curve.
Confetti falling past a windowDraw the frame first, then scatter small shapes more thickly at the top than the bottom.
Dancing shoes with heavy heelsThe Jalisco costume includes shoes with thick heels for stamping. Side view, one strap.
The number 5 built from flowersPencil the 5 lightly, cover the line with small flower heads, then rub the pencil out.
Ribbons flying from a dancer's hairThree ribbons, three colours, streaming out level as she turns.
Fiesta decorations 7
A cascarón cracking into a shower of confettiThe shell splits into three pieces. Confetti is small squares and circles flying outward.
A courtyard strung with flags from wall to wallLines of cut paper criss-crossing overhead, their patterned shadows on the paving below.
A doorway framed in paper garlandsChains of loops up both sides and across the lintel. Leave the door itself plain.
A papel picado design planned on folded paperIt can be made by folding tissue and snipping with small scissors. Mark the fold, then mirror each cut.
A papel picado panel cut with your own initialsThe letters stay as solid paper; cut away the shapes round them. Scallop the lower edge.
A party table seen from abovePlates as circles, a runner down the middle, one big bowl, and the shadows of paper flags across it all.
A star piñata with a streamer on every pointThe traditional piñata is a ball with points. Cones round a sphere, fringed paper in rows.
Puebla, where it began 10
A house front covered in tilesIn Puebla tiles decorate the outside of buildings as well as the inside. Draw a diamond grid over the wall.
A map of Mexico with a star on PueblaPuebla is in central Mexico, on the main road from the port of Veracruz to Mexico City.
A parade in Puebla seen from a balconyPuebla marks the day with parades and festivals. Draw hats, banners and drums from above.
A Puebla kitchen wall of tiles and hanging potsThe Puebla kitchen is a traditional home of Talavera: tiled walls and counters, pots on hooks.
A row of Puebla house fronts, each a different colourThe historic centre of Puebla is a World Heritage Site. Flat fronts, tall doors, iron balconies.
A sequinned skirt spread out in a circleThe china poblana skirt was decorated with sequins. Draw it from above as a full circle of pattern.
A Talavera jar with a lidWhite ground, blue scrolls and leaves, one band of yellow. Yellow, green and orange were used as well as blue.
An embroidered china poblana blouseThe china poblana dress of Puebla had a white blouse embroidered in bright geometric and floral designs.
Four Talavera tiles making one patternDesign a quarter of a flower in one corner, then turn the tile three times so the corners meet.
The hills above Puebla with two small fortsThe battle of 5 May 1862 was fought at the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe above the city. Plain blocks on two hills.
Music and dance 8
A folklórico skirt in mid-swirlDancers from Jalisco wear brightly coloured ruffled skirts trimmed with ribbons. Draw the hem as a wave.
A guitarrón, the bass of the groupThe guitarrón is mariachi's acoustic bass guitar. Draw it bigger than the chest of the person holding it.
A mariachi group in silhouetteViolins, two trumpets, guitars. Draw only the outlines against an evening sky.
A musician tuning up, seen from behindHead bent to the instrument, one hand at the pegs. The others wait in a half circle.
A vihuela beside a violinThe Mexican vihuela is a small high-pitched guitar. Violins carry the tune, as many as eight of them.
Four violin bows at the same angleDraw the violins overlapping, scrolls to the left, every bow slanting the same way.
The hat dance: two dancers circling a hat on the groundJalisco's Jarabe Tapatío is known in English as the hat dance. The hat sits in the centre of the page.
Two dancers whose skirts make a figure of eightEach holds her hem out with both hands. The two curves meet in the middle of the page.
Posters and lettering 9
A big numeral 5 filled with tile patternsOutline a fat 5, divide it into squares and give each square a different blue motif.
A border of tiles round a messageSquares along all four edges, the same motif turned a quarter each time.
A classroom door drawn as a Puebla house frontTall door, tiled surround, a balcony above. Measure the real door and draw it to scale.
A poster with two dates: 5 May and 16 SeptemberThe day is often mistaken for Mexico's Independence Day, which is 16 September. Two calendar pages, labelled.
A thank-you card shaped like a piñataCut the card as a star or a ball with points and fringe the edges with scissors.
A window display of paper flags, flowers and a drawn trumpetPlan it as a drawing first: flags at the top, flowers in the corners, the trumpet in the middle.
A word poster: fiesta, papel picado, mariachiThree words down the page, each with a small drawing beside it and a line saying what it means.
Viva Puebla on a ribbon bannerDraw the ribbon's folds first, then fit the two words to the flat part.
Your name in the colours of cut tissue paperOne colour per letter, each letter pierced with small diamonds and circles.
How it works
Cinco de Mayo remembers a Mexican victory at Puebla on 5 May 1862. These Cinco de Mayo drawing ideas stay with what is real: Puebla's tiles and dress, mariachi instruments, folk dance and cut-paper flags. Each hint was checked.
Read the full guide
Start in Puebla
The day belongs to one city, so its things make the best subjects. Talavera tiles are blue on white and repeat by turning. The old china poblana dress has an embroidered white blouse and a sequinned skirt. Skip the cartoon cactus and the false moustache: they say nothing about the place or the day.
Fiesta drawing ideas for a classroom
The Fiesta decorations group holds things a class can draw and then make: papel picado, confetti eggs, paper flowers. Draw the design flat first. A papel picado panel is a rectangle with a scalloped lower edge and shapes cut out of it, so shade the holes, not the paper.
Green, white and red, in that order, are the colours of the Mexican flag. Use them for bunting and borders.
A mariachi group is drawn by its instruments: violins, two trumpets, a small vihuela and the big guitarrón.
Questions and answers
What does Cinco de Mayo celebrate?
Mexico's victory over a French army at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862. In Mexico it is marked mainly in Puebla, with parades. In the United States it has become a celebration of Mexican-American culture, with music and regional dance.
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?
No. It is often mistaken for it, but Mexican Independence Day is 16 September and marks the start of the war of independence from Spain in 1810. One poster idea on the list puts the two dates side by side.
What is papel picado?
A Mexican folk art: sheets of tissue paper with designs cut into them, strung together as decoration. Makers cut stacks of sheets with chisels; at home it is made by folding the tissue and snipping with small scissors.