New Delhi, May 5 -- Cinco de Mayo, celebrated every year on May 5, honors the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on this day in 1862. Despite being outnumbered and under-equipped, the Mexican army, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated the much larger and better-equipped French army. The victory became a symbol of resistance and pride for Mexico, marking a pivotal moment in the Second French Intervention.

Cinco de Mayo means "Fifth of May" in Spanish. Cinco de Mayo is pronounced cin-koh deh my-oh in English. The Spanish pronunciation is [ˈsiŋ.ko ðe ˈma.ʝo]. In Spanish, the "cinco" is pronounced as "sing-koh", and the "de" is a prepostion meaning "of". The Cambridge Dictionary pr...