--- description: In 1968, LIFE dispatched a photographer to capture a slice of Mexican culture for curious readers to the country’s north. title: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With Vivid Images of Mexico in the 1960s image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c61541566fe3b7f/6987ecd3524fc06d30df0682/150424-mexico-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Great Places](/tag/great-places/) ## Great Places Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With Vivid Images of Mexico in the 1960s  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 5, 2015 12:00 PM CUT  Caption from LIFE. Fiesta in Guanajuato. Caption from LIFE. Fiesta in Guanajuato.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 5, 2015 12:00 PM CUT Ever since the celebration began to trickle eastward from California during the middle of the 20th century, Cinco de Mayo has been subject to several misconceptions in the United States. Many people mistakenly equate it with Mexico’s Independence Day, which actually takes place on September 16\. Thanks largely to the marketing efforts of beer companies, many use it as an excuse to drink to excess while donning sombreros, the meaning behind the celebration of little consequence to revelers. But in reality, the holiday commemorates the Mexican army’s defeat of the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, after which the heavily outnumbered Mexican forces’ victory over the well-equipped French invaders came to symbolize national unity and strength. The holiday has evolved to more broadly celebrate Mexican heritage and culture, which LIFE featured in a 1968 photo essay by photographer John Dominis. Dominis was dispatched to Mexico ahead of the 1968 summer Olympics, which would bring many international travelers there. The photographs celebrated the country’s diverse ethnic makeup, its fiestas and its food, as well as its modernizing urban centers. They were, for many of LIFE’s readers, a first intimate glimpse into life south of the border, and one that presented the country’s richness of culture as worthy of admiration. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Caption from LIFE. Fiesta in Guanajuato. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Park dancers in Mexico City. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Plaza singers in Vera Cruz. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Indian of Morelia. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Performers in Mexico. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. A wonders watcher. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A mariachi band, Mexico. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Incense bearer in Chiapas. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A young girl in Mexico. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Market, Mexico City. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Market children, San Miguel de Allende. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Lily seller, San Critóbal de las Casas. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Fruit stand, Mexico City. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Hammock seller, Oaxaca. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Man with balloons, Mexico. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Pinwheel display, Mexico City. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Hatful of onions, Vera Cruz. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Cambio de mayordomo. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Unloading fowl, Oaxaca. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Woman shelling corn in wicker hampers at a local market, Mexico. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Lunch on the Paseo de la Reforma. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Couple in Chapultepec Park, Mexico City. John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3835080/cinco-de-mayo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3835080/cinco-de-mayo/"},"headline":"Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With Vivid Images of Mexico in the 1960s","datePublished":"2015-05-05T12:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:42.253Z","description":"In 1968, LIFE dispatched a photographer to capture a slice of Mexican culture","url":"https://time.com/3835080/cinco-de-mayo/","keywords":["Great Places","Newsfeed","Mexico","photography","LIFE Magazine","John Dominis","1968"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c61541566fe3b7f/6987ecd3524fc06d30df0682/150424-mexico-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c61541566fe3b7f/6987ecd3524fc06d30df0682/150424-mexico-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mexico 1969","caption":"Fiesta in Guanajuato.","creditText":"John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/great-places/","name":"Great Places"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3835080/cinco-de-mayo/","name":"Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With Vivid Images of Mexico in the 1960s"}}]}] ```