Cinco de Mayo Edition

I usually post on Mondays and Wednesdays but I had to make an exception this week for the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo. No, this is not Mexico's Independence Day; it commemorates the victory of the Mexican Republican forces against the invading Imperial French Army at the city of Puebla (near Mexico City) on May 5, 1862-- a temporary victory, as it turned out. Before the Republic could be reestablished, there was that brief, tragic, and very painterly interlude known as the Second Empire (Maximilian von Habsburg et al).

Herewith 5 links:

The aftermath of that long-ago battle is in my novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire.

Read more about Cinco de Mayo over at my blog post on Donald W. Miles and his work.

My south of the border music selections (ye olde guest-blog post for Wendi Kaufman's The Happy Booker), apropos of my anthology of 24 Mexican writers on Mexico, Mexico: A Traveler's Literary Companion.

My favorite place to visit near Puebla (nothing to do with the battle): Eulogio Gillow's English-style castle in a trout pond.

A really fun and informative blog post about Mexican murals, over at the MOMA blog: "Five for Friday: Mexican Muralists on Cinco de Mayo" by Bonnie MacKay.

VIVA!