Many who think they know what Cinco de Mayo is are wrong and they assume it's Mexico's Independence Day and it's not. Quote everyone thinks that it's just a party time, it's corona time, says Mario Garcia, a Chiconics historian from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Quote it's okay for people to go out and have a good time on a holiday like Cinco de Mayo. At least they have some sense that it's some kind of a Mexican holiday, Garcia says