Happy Cinco de Mayo!  As a public service (and as a way to make people roll their eyes), we will now review the origins of the holiday now known for margaritas and pico de gallo on corn chips.

The fifth of May is not Mexico’s Independence Day.  It is also not the anniversary of a war won or a treaty ratified.  It is the anniversary of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over the French in the state of Puebla in one battle in 1862.  Independence day is September 16, but Happy Dieciséis de Septiembre just doesn’t have the same ring when you yell it out of open car windows.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, what is going on today?  Besides the normal Cinco de Mayo happy hours and specials at any and all Mexican restaurants in the area, it’s a beautiful sunny day.  And that means frozen yogurt!  The new Pinkberry location is opening in Dupont and giving out free froyo from 6-10pm tonight.

Twin’s Jazz celebrates the holiday with typical down-to-earthiness with the Duende Quartet.  With a nod to the classical Blue Note style of the sixties and a lot of standards, Duende will also feature some Led Zepplin just for fun.  Go over to the U Street location for the 8pm or 10pm shows.  The music will be amazing, but be prepared for the $10 minimum bar tab to be tacked onto the $15 ticket price.

Also tonight, the Phillips Collection‘s After Five program (jazz, cash bar, opera and models walking around) goes Italian instead of Mexican with Italian fashion and Italian opera.  Any Don Pasquale fans out there?  All included in the price of admission, $12.

So, whether you decide to go full-on Mexican heritage, yuppie with froyo or European faux-culture, just keep in mind what you mean when you say Cinco de Mayo.