Happy Cinco de Mayo....Now here’s a brief lesson on how Cinco de Mayo came to be in United States. The American celebration of the day began in California in 1860s in response to Mexico’s resistance to the French rule. UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture published a paper that stated Mexican miners near Columbia town (now Columbia State Park) were so overjoyed at the outcome of the Battle of Puebla where 4,000 Mexican soldiers drove out 8,000 French soldiers they fired rifles and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and gave speeches.