Cinco de Mayo is one of the oddest of unofficial but important American holidays, commemorating a Mexican victory over French troops on Mexican soil.  Barely noticed in Mexico, it has become an enormous celebration of Mexican culture and history, not to mention an opportunity to drink beer and eat guacamole and chips eagerly anticipated by supermarkets throughout the land, judging by their special merchandising displays.Allan Wall, writing at Mexidata.info, does a good job of explaining why Americans should care about the Mexican military victory:French Emperor Napoleon III saw France as the protector of the Latin peoples, and had an ambitious plan to establish Mexico as a bulwark against the United States. France invaded Mexico during the U.S. Civil War, which rendered the U.S. military unable to intervene.  Part of the French emperor's plan was a linkup with the Confederacy, thus neutralizing U.S. ability to thwart the French strategy. On May 5th, 1862, north of the...(Read Full Post)