El Cinco de Mayo - by David Hayes-Bautista (Paperback)

About the Book

"David Hayes-Bautista's fascinating study finds new sources that illuminate the California roots of Cinco de Mayo celebrations. But more than just uncovering the holiday's true origins, "El Cinco de Mayo" offers a striking interpretation of the making of a Mexican-American culture in Civil War-Era North America."--Stephen Aron, author of "American Confluence: The Missouri Frontier from Borderland to Border State."
"In this well-written and thoroughly-researched study, Hayes-Bautista reminds us that Cinco de Mayo is not really a Mexican holiday, but rather a celebration created in California during the American Civil War by native-born Latinos and immigrants from Mexico and Latin America. Hayes-Bautista has reconstructed the rich social and political world of these California Latinos in painstaking detail, and his analysis of their widespread political engagement reveals an activism hitherto not fully recognized. This is an original and revealing book that changes the way we think about nineteenth century California."--Richard Griswold del Castillo, author of "The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict."

Book Synopsis

Why is Cinco de Mayo--a holiday commemorating a Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862--so widely celebrated in California and across the United States, when it is scarcely observed in Mexico? As David E. Hayes-Bautista explains, the holiday is not Mexican at all, but rather an American one, created by Latinos in California during the mid-nineteenth century. Hayes-Bautista shows how the meaning of Cinco de Mayo has shifted over time--it embodied immigrant nostalgia in the 1930s, U.S. patriotism during World War II, Chicano Power in the 1960s and 1970s, and commercial intentions in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, it continues to reflect the aspirations of a community that is engaged, empowered, and expanding.

From the Back Cover

"David Hayes-Bautista's fascinating study finds new sources that illuminate the California roots of Cinco de Mayo celebrations. But more than just uncovering the holiday's true origins, El Cinco de Mayo offers a striking interpretation of the making of a Mexican-American culture in Civil War-Era North America."--Stephen Aron, author of American Confluence: The Missouri Frontier from Borderland to Border State.

"In this well-written and thoroughly-researched study, Hayes-Bautista reminds us that Cinco de Mayo is not really a Mexican holiday, but rather a celebration created in California during the American Civil War by native-born Latinos and immigrants from Mexico and Latin America. Hayes-Bautista has reconstructed the rich social and political world of these California Latinos in painstaking detail, and his analysis of their widespread political engagement reveals an activism hitherto not fully recognized. This is an original and revealing book that changes the way we think about nineteenth century California."--Richard Griswold del Castillo, author of The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: A Legacy of Conflict.

Review Quotes

"A valuable work for the general reader, students, and scholars interested in the history of Mexican Americans and the US West."-- "Historian"

"An important contribution to the canons of American and Latino social and cultural history."-- "Journal of San Diego History"

"El Cinco de Mayo does what I once thought impossible: explain the relevance and the importance of commemorating this day."-- "Washington Independent Review of Books"

"Behind Cinco de Mayo there lies a fascinating story. . ."-- "Huffington Post"

"If one actually wants to learn about this celebration, read El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition by UCLA Professor David Hayes Bautista."-- "Arizona Daily Star"

"A highly readable and important analysis not only of the holiday's origins but also of the native-born and immigrant Latino communities that created it."-- "Southern California Quarterly" (3/1/2013 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

David E. Hayes-Bautista is Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, in the Division of General Internal Medicine.. He is the author of La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State (UC Press).