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This article is more than 2 years old.

Cinco de Mayo may be the biggest celebration of Mexican American culture in the United States. In fact the holiday, which celebrates the victory of an outnumbered Mexican army against the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, is more popular in the U.S. than it is in Mexico.

On the occasion of the holiday, FORBES visualized a few telltale indicators of the economic impact of Mexican food and alcohol in the U.S. in five infographics . If Cinco de Mayo helped popularize Mexican culture in the U.S., then these are just some of the beneficiaries.

Cinco de Mayo is a boon to avocado growers, and Americans eat tons of avocados. It wouldn't be Cinco de Mayo without a healthy dollop of guacamole. Americans eat a staggering 81 million pounds of avocados on Cinco de Mayo.

In the U.S., Cinco de Mayo is associated with drinking, and Americans are likely to celebrate with a margarita, or three. The spicy, salty beverage makes up 14% of American cocktail spending. That's $2.9 billion spent on margaritas every year.

Others will clink beer bottles or down tequila shots. Americans consumed almost a billion liters of Corona Extra in 2014, and 127 million liters of Jose Cuervo tequila. The United States is also the biggest tequila and mezcal market in the world.

Rather eat out? There are lots of options, 54,000 Mexican restaurants to be exact. To give you a sense of Americans' appetites for Mexican cuisine, On the Border is only present in the U.S., but it's the most popular Latin American restaurant in the world, according to EuroMonitor.
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Cinco de Mayo began as a Mexican American holiday, before becoming commercialized for the general population in the '80s, according to GoMexico. Contrary to popular belief, it's not the Mexican equivalent of Independence Day (that's in September). The holiday commemorates the Battle of Puebla, when Mexican forces triumphed over a far larger French force in 1862. Here's what the odds looked like:
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I'm a news reporter here at Forbes, writing analytical takes on the day's trending and viral news. Before landing here I worked at the Huffington Post and Mashable, wher...

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Valuing Cinco de Mayo In Margaritas, Avocados And Cerveza (Infographics)

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This article is more than 2 years old. Cinco de Mayo may be the biggest celebration of Mexican American culture in the United States. In fact the holiday, which celebrates the victory of an outnumbered Mexican army against the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, is more popular in the U.S.

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The celebration of the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire on May 5, 1862

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Cinco de Mayo is an annual celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza