Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with parades, mariachi music, dancing, and feasting. Many people in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
In Mexican restaurants in Texas, my home state, you can buy special candies called "pralines." This candy is made of brown sugar, cream, butter, pecans, and vanilla. It is delicious, but it did not originate in Mexico. A French nobleman named Praslin created it 200 years ago. Instead of chocolates or flowers, he gave pralines to young women as gifts. The French brought this candy to Louisiana, where it is very popular. Maybe the French took pralines to Mexico, too. I like to make this candy and give it to my students on Cinco de Mayo. (The pralines are the brown candies in the center of the plate below.)
