Cinco de Mayo celebrates resilience and culture of Mexican people

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Cinco de Mayo festivities are taking place across the U.S. with music, tacos, tequila and colorful displays of Mexican culture — even if they're not always the most authentic.

The day falls on a Monday this year, meaning the bulk of the celebrations took place over the weekend. In California, a state with a large Mexican American population, there was a mix of art displays, classic car shows, parades and food truck offerings.

In Austin, Texas, events included an opportunity for children to get their photo taken with characters from the Disney animated musical “Encanto," which was inspired by Colombian culture but celebrates broader Latino cultures. A luncheon with speakers talking about the significance of the Mexican holiday and Mexican Americans in Austin was planned for Monday.

Here's a look at the celebration and its roots:

Cinco de Mayo marks the anniversary of the 1862 victory by Mexican troops over invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The triumph over the better-equipped and much larger French troops was an enormous emotional boost for Mexican soldiers led by Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza.

In Mexico, historical reenactments are held annually in the central city of Puebla to commemorate the victory. Participants dress as Mexican and French troops, and as Zacapoaxtlas — the Indigenous and farmer contingent that helped Mexican troops win.

In the United States the date is seen as a celebration of Mexican American culture, stretching back to the 1800s in California. Festivities typically include parades, street food, block parties, mariachi competitions and baile folklórico, or folkloric ballet, with whirling dancers wearing bright, ruffled dresses and their hair tied with shiny ribbons.

Latino activists and scholars say that disconnect in the U.S. is bolstered by the hazy history of Cinco de Mayo, and marketing that plays on stereotypes that include fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic, colorful sombreros. The day often is mistaken for Mexican Independence Day, which is in September.

For many Americans with or without Mexican ancestry, the day is an excuse to toss back tequila shots and gorge on tortilla chips, nachos and tacos.

The celebrations in the U.S. started as a way for Mexican Americans to preserve their cultural identity, said Sehila Mota Casper, director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation.

“Since then we’ve seen a shift to more commercialization and commodification and mockery over the years," Mota Casper said. "I think that has a lot to do with the commercialization of products and especially Latino heritage.”

Mota Casper encourages people to learn about that day in history and its importance in Mexico.

Jacob Troncoza, 49, said he celebrates Cinco de Mayo in his household because he's proud of his Mexican ancestry.

“I try to make sure that the kids understand what it’s about, which was the revolution, the war, and the battles that our grandfathers fought on,” said Troncoza, who was born in east Los Angeles.

Others, like Andrea Ruiz don't because her Mexican dad never did. But she noted what she deemed the irony in widespread celebrations.

“I think it’s funny Trump … and all of his supporters want to get Mexicans out, call them criminals, but then on Cinco de Mayo, they want to go and eat tacos and drink tequila,” the 23-year-old Ruiz said.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has continued to label Mexican immigrants as criminals and gang members. He's also sought to end birthright citizenship, renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and ended the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Trump acknowledged Cinco de Mayo during his first term, posting on X, “Happy #CincoDeMayo!” and “I love Hispanics!” as he sat with a “taco bowl.” In the last presidential election, data showed more young Hispanic men moved to the right and voted for Trump.

It's unclear if the current administration will acknowledge Cinco de Mayo — designated a holiday in Mexico but not in the United States. The Associated Press sent an email to the White House Press Office late Friday seeking comment.

Trump's handling of immigration remains a point of strength as he ramps up deportations and targets people living in the U.S. without legal status, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. While Trump’s actions remain divisive, there’s less of a consensus that the Republican president has overstepped on immigration than on other issues, the poll found.

Organizers of Chicago's Cinco de Mayo parade said they canceled it because the city has become a target for immigration agents.

Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Luca Fernandez, 5, walks in front of a mural made by artist Jesus Alba to commemorate the 1862 battle of Puebla between the French and Mexican army during a Cinco De Mayo celebration in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A float rider waves a U.S.-Mexico flag during a Cinco de Mayo parade in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Michelin-starred Chef Mario Hernández Alonso of El Califa de León taqueria in Mexico City, stops for a photography while he prepares tacos at a Cinco de Mayo pop-up event at The Mexicano, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Michelin-starred Chef Mario Hernández Alonso of El Califa de León taqueria in Mexico City, prepares tacos at a Cinco de Mayo pop-up event at The Mexicano, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Children pick up candy during a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Yorktown Spanish School in Dallas, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Beads are tossed from a float during a Cinco de Mayo parade in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Rolando Salas, originally for Mexico, photographs a mural made by artist Jesus Alba to commemorate the 1862 battle of Puebla between the French and Mexican army during a Cinco De Mayo celebration in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, May 3, 2025. Salas called the May 5th holiday, "A celebration of us." (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Vincent Ramirez's shirt expresses his thoughts as he watches a Cinco de Mayo parade in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Eleven-year-olds Kataleah Mendez, right, and Angelica Juarez pose for a photo with the low rider car that appeared in the movie Selena parked for display during a Cinco de Mayo celebration in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Victoria Jasso, 2, swings at a piñata during a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Yorktown Spanish School in Dallas, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A float rider hands candy to a Dallas police officer during a Cinco de Mayo parade in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Saul Garcia, 3, wears a sombrero during a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Yorktown Spanish School in Dallas, Monday, May 5, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

FILE - Women dance during a re-enactment of The Battle of Puebla as part of Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the Peñon de los Baños neighborhood of Mexico City, May 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

FILE - Folklorico dancers from the group Viva Mexico perform their routine during a Cinco de Mayo celebration and mixer hosted by the Odessa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, May 5, 2021, in Odessa, Texas. (Eli Hartman/Odessa American via AP, File)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)