Take this 10-question quiz to determine how much you really know about Cinco de Mayo

John Esparza
·3 min read
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What better way to prepare for Cinco de Mayo than brushing up on your knowledge about the celebration with Mexican roots that has become a big deal in the United States.

No cheating, now!

1. The Battle of Cinco de Mayo took place in which Mexican city?

  • A) México City

  • B) Tijuana

  • C) Puebla

  • D) Dolores Hidalgo

  • E) Veracruz

2. What foreign army did the Mexican troops defeat?

  • A) United States

  • B) France

  • C) Spain

  • D) Portugal

  • E) Texas

3. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans consume more avocados on which holiday?

  • A) New Year’s Day

  • B) Cinco de Mayo

  • C) Super Bowl

  • D) Mexican Independence Day

  • E) Christmas Day

4. Which of the following individuals was not born on May 5?

5. Which three European countries sent troops to Veracruz in an attempt to collect money that México owed them?

  • A) Portugal

  • B) France

  • C) Spain

  • D) Great Britain

  • E) Denmark

6. Because the United States was locked in its Civil War, it couldn’t enforce what policy to keep European countries from expanding into North America?

  • A) the Trump Pact

  • B) Lincoln Logic

  • C) Monroe Doctrine

  • D) Roosevelt Doctrine

7. When did México declare victory over the invading French?

  • A) May 5, 1861

  • B) July 4, 1863

  • C) June 5, 1867

  • D) Jan. 1, 1868

  • E) Sept. 16, 1868

8. Where was the first celebration of Cinco de Mayo held in the United States?

  • A) Los Ángeles

  • B) San Antonio, Texas

  • C) San Diego

  • D) Tuolumne County

  • E) New Orleans

9. Which Mexican who fought at the Battle of Puebla went on to become president of the country?

  • A) Ignacio Zaragoza

  • B) Porfirio Díaz

  • C) Antonio López de Santa Anna

  • D) Benito Juárez

  • E) Pancho Villa

10. What European leader installed Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of México?

  • A) Queen Mary II

  • B) Queen Isabella II

  • C) Napoleon III

  • D) King Louis I

  • E) Napoleon Bonaparte

Answers

1 - C: A rag-tag collection of Mexican fighters fought against the invaders at the city of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

2 - B: A poorly equipped Mexican army of about 4,000 defeated about 8,000 highly equipped French troops.

3 - C: According to the trade group Avocados From México, the Super Bowl accounts for the greatest consumption of avocados. Cinco de Mayo places second.

4 - E: Benito Juárez, who led the Mexican government during the fight against the French, was born on March 21, 1806.

5 - B, C, D: France, Spain and Great Britain sent armies to México in an effort to collect debts, but only France invaded.

6 - C: Because of the Civil War and fear that the French would help the Confederates, President Abraham Lincoln was not willing to enforce the Monroe Doctrine which treats any intervention of the political affairs of the Américas by a foreign power as a hostile act against the U.S.

7 - C: On June 5, 1867, Benito Juárez installed a new government in México City once the French were driven out.

8 - D: Mexican miners in the gold country settlement of Columbia celebrated the news of México’s victory that they set off fireworks, sang patriotic songs, and fired off rifle shots, according to historian Dr. David Hayes-Bautista.

9 - B: Porfirio Díaz was a young officer with the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla. He went on to a long rule as president and dictator of México.

10 - C: Napoleon III.