How it works
These Cinco de Mayo writing prompts carry the date's history in the line under the prompt, so nobody has to write it as an independence day. Many need only a street, a band and something good to eat.
Read the full guide
What Cinco de Mayo remembers
On May 5, 1862, a poorly equipped Mexican army defeated French troops at the forts above the city of Puebla. Four days later the anniversary was declared a holiday. Fifteen prompts are about the battle: a baker who hears the battle, the night before in the fort, the news reaching miners in California.
Cinco de Mayo writing prompts for the day itself
Thirty more are parades, food and music: a parade watched from the curb or built in a classroom, a pot of mole poblano, a mariachi trumpet part learned in three days.
- Say May 5, 1862, once in any piece about the battle. A date pins a story down.
- For a food prompt, write the smell before the taste.
Questions and answers
What are good writing prompts for Cinco de Mayo?
Ones with a job to do. Write the parade as the last person in it, the letter the French general had to send home, or a family that cannot agree on what goes in the guacamole.
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?
No. Mexican Independence Day is September 16 and goes back to 1810. Cinco de Mayo marks the Battle of Puebla, fought against the French 52 years later.
How is Cinco de Mayo celebrated in Mexico?
Mostly in the state of Puebla, where it is an official holiday, with parades, meals and a reenactment of the battle. It is not a statutory national holiday, though public schools close across Mexico that day.
When did Cinco de Mayo start in the United States?
In the 1860s. A celebration was reported in the gold town of Columbia, California, in 1862, the year of the battle, and Los Angeles and San Francisco held commemorations with parades in 1863.