HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) —
It was vibrant and joyous and full of community pride.
Hola Carolina’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations on Sunday in downtown Hendersonville drew a diverse crow determined to celebrate Mexican-American heritage and share in the dancing, playing, eating, chatting and laughing before the storm clouds in the distance grew near.
Although it’s frequently mistaken for an independence celebration, Cinco de Mayo really marks the 5th of May, 1862, when a greatly outnumbered Mexican force defeated French Emperor Napoleon III’s army at the Battle of Puebla, preserving the independence Mexico gained from Spain during the war of independence from 1810 to 1821.
Although Cinco de Mayo is commemorated in Mexico, particularly in the state of Puebla, it has taken on even greater meaning in the United States, where immigrants from Mexico and across Latin America treat it as a celebration of cultural heritage and other Americans have decided to join in the fun.
In Hendersonville on Sunday, thousands of people turned out. Things got warmed up with a high-energy Zumba exercise for the crowd, and then entertainment included DJs and traditional folk dancing from the colorful troupe Al Ritmo de mi tierra.
