Cinco de Mayo

Take a look beyond the two-for-one margarita specials to gain a better understanding of the origins behind Mexico's festive Cinco de Mayo celebrations with this History Channel documentary featuring period re-enactments of Napoleon III's ill-fated 1862 raid on Puebla, Mexico. It was May 5, 1862 when a ramshackle Mexican army teamed with Zacapoaxtla Indians and average civilians to drive out the French invaders who coveted their land, and though the details may have long been forgotten by many, the celebration of that day carries on. From the early skirmishes to untimely death of the heroic General Ignacio Zaragoza mere months after the end of the conflict, this release explores the holiday often mistaken as Mexican Independence Day in greater detail than ever before.