From Dance to History: How Schools Celebrate Cinco de Mayo
Teaching

From Dance to History: How Schools Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

By Edér Del Prado — April 25, 2025 1 min read
Folklorico dancers dance their way through Madison Avenue during the Annual Mexican Day Parade in New York City.
Ryan Rahman/iStock Editorial
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In a matter of days, Cinco de Mayo celebrations will once again fill communities all over the United States with vibrant colors, delicious food, captivating dances, genial attitudes, beautiful songs—an overall infectious good time.

Despite some misconceptions, Cinco de Mayo does not celebrate Mexican Independence Day, a status the country achieved more than 50 years prior to the events for the holiday, which celebrates a major battlefield victory in 1862 in a war with the French.

In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a major holiday outside of the state where the battle took place, but it has become one in the United States, especially in areas with a large ethnically Mexican population. As USA Today reported, its popularity grew in this country during the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s, as activists linked their own struggle for cultural recognition with that of 19th century Mexicans fighting against a foreign power.

For American schools, there’s plenty of ways to observe the holiday, whether it’s a Mexican-themed lunch, or having a traditional Mexican performance put on for the students to enjoy. School systems use the holiday to celebrate their Mexican American staff, students, and overall community.

Here’s how various districts and schools teach about this historic day and make it an opportunity for fun.

Learning through food and games

Traditional dances and a classic Mariachi band

A little bit of everything

Edér Del Prado
Social Media Producer,  Education Week
Edér is the social media producer for Education Week.
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