For Nayomie Mendoza, owner of Cuernavaca’s Grill in Los Angeles, the typical American Cinco de Mayo — tacos, margaritas and mariachi — is fine, but it misses the deeper meaning. This year, she and other Mexican American restaurateurs are leaning into the holiday’s historical roots: the 1862 Battle of Puebla, where poorly equipped Mexican troops defeated a much larger French invading force. That story of resilience, Mendoza said, mirrors what Latino communities are enduring today under a climate of aggressive immigration enforcement and fear.
Sehila Mota Casper, director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, said a notable shift is happening this year. “These are just incredible moments of educating and knowledge sharing,” she said. “The more we educate, the more knowledge we share, the better a community and people we become.”
Raul Luis, owner of Birrieria Chalio with locations in Los Angeles and Fort Worth, Texas, is emphasizing traditional guisados — braised stews served as taco fillings — of the kind one would find in a Mexican family’s home. “It’s the ultimate opportunity for restaurants to take advantage of that moment and bring them in and entice them to authentic Mexican food,” he said. Hispanic-owned firms accounted for 8.4% of 5.9 million U.S. employers in 2024, according to Census Bureau data, and approximately 18% of all restaurant businesses last month, per the National Restaurant Association.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 victory of Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza’s troops over the French at the Battle of Puebla. In Mexico, reenactments are held annually in Puebla, with participants dressing as Mexican and French soldiers and as Zacapoaxtlas, the Indigenous and farmer contingent that aided the victory. In the U.S., the holiday is often mistaken for Mexican Independence Day — which falls on Sept. 16 — and has long been commercialized with sombreros and tequila, a flattening that activists and scholars say is bolstered by hazy history and marketing stereotypes.
That commercialization took a more pointed turn on Tuesday when the White House official Instagram account shared an AI-generated image showing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in sombreros, drinking margaritas in front of the U.S. border, with a sign reading “I love illegal immigrants.” The post drew condemnation for perpetuating derogatory stereotypes.
Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump has repeatedly labeled Mexican immigrants as criminals and gang members, and his administration has pursued hard-line immigration tactics, a federally led English-only initiative and a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Together, these policies have generated deep fear in Latino communities, said community leaders, even as rising costs have also squeezed the restaurant industry.
Mendoza, whose restaurant is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is channeling that fear into action: as part of Cinco de Mayo festivities, Cuernavaca’s Grill will host a food and toy drive for those struggling in the current climate. “This is a testament of our resilience,” she said. “It’s a testament of our hard work. It is pride to our community and everything that we’ve accomplished.”