Cinco De Mayo Crossword Puzzle

Print a criss-cross Cinco de Mayo crossword whose clues tell what happened at Puebla on May 5, 1862.

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Cinco de Mayo Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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  • Churro
  • Fiesta
  • Fifth
  • Flag
  • Flan
  • Maraca
  • Mariachi
  • May
  • Pacific
  • Parade
  • Puebla
  • Victory

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Answer key: Cinco de Mayo Crossword

1MARA2CAH3PUAR4F5VICTORYIIOE6PF7FS8MARIACHITRC9FLAG10FLANTD11MH12PUEBLAY

Across 1 MARACA · 5 VICTORY · 8 MARIACHI · 9 FLAG · 10 FLAN · 12 PUEBLA

Down 2 CHURRO · 3 PACIFIC · 4 FIESTA · 6 PARADE · 7 FIFTH · 11 MAY

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All 171 clues

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The Battle of Puebla, 1862 39

  • Artillery Big guns; the French fired theirs at the forts for two hours
  • Britain Island nation that sent ships with the Spanish and the French, settled its claims and sailed home
  • Cavalry Horse soldiers; Mexico's waited out of sight, then charged
  • Debt Money owed: in 1861 Mexico stopped paying its foreign kind for two years
  • Díaz Young officer in the battle who took power in Mexico in 1876
  • Dolores The "Cry of ___" of 1810 began Mexico's fight to be free
  • Emperor Title the French gave their chosen ruler of Mexico
  • Empire What the French ruler hoped to set up in Mexico
  • Fifth Cinco is five; as a date it becomes the ___
  • France Country whose army lost the battle of 1862
  • Hill High ground the French had to climb to reach the forts
  • Independence What Mexico began to fight for in 1810; its day is in a different month
  • Invade To march an army into another country, as the French did in 1862
  • Juárez President who made the anniversary a national day four days after the battle
  • Loreto Fort that the general ordered strengthened, along with Fort Guadalupe
  • Maguey Spiky plant: a field of it gave cover to Mexican riders
  • Maximilian Archduke the French made ruler of Mexico from 1864 to 1867
  • May Mayo, in English: the month after April
  • Morale Fighting spirit: the win gave Mexico's a boost
  • Musket Old-fashioned gun of the Mexican soldiers, outmatched by French rifles
  • Napoleon The French head of state in 1862, number III of his name
  • Noon Time of day the fighting broke out
  • Orizaba Town the French fell back to, to wait for more men
  • Outnumbered What 4,000 are when they face 8,000
  • Patriotism Pride in one's nation, which grew in Mexico after the win
  • Puebla City whose hilltop forts held off the French in 1862
  • Retreat To pull back, as the French did after three failed attacks
  • Schools Public ones close all over Mexico every Cinco de Mayo
  • September Month of Mexico's most important national day, which many mix up with Cinco de Mayo
  • Seven Hour of the evening when the French went back to camp
  • Spain Country whose ships reached Mexico first, in December 1861, and sailed home after talks
  • Sword Blade awarded to the winning general as thanks
  • Telegraph How the general's report of the battle was sent to the government
  • Texas Today a U.S. state: the winning general was born there in 1829
  • Troops A year later the French came back with 30,000 of them
  • Uphill Direction of all three failed French attacks
  • Veracruz Port where the fleets of three countries arrived before the fighting
  • Victory What Mexico's smaller army won in 1862
  • Zaragoza General who led the Mexican side; the city of the battle now carries his name

Parades and Celebrations 27

  • Amigo What you call a pal in Mexico
  • Banner Many people display one printed with the name of the day
  • Blindfold It covers the eyes of the one whose turn it is to swing
  • California State where the first celebrations were held, the same year as the battle
  • Cascarón Hollowed eggshell filled with paper bits, made to be crushed over a head
  • Columbia Gold country town where the day has been kept every year since 1862
  • Confetti Handfuls of paper specks that rain down on a celebration
  • Congress Lawmakers in Washington who asked in 2005 for the day to be observed
  • Costume Outfit worn to play a soldier of 1862
  • Culture Mexican ___: what the day has come to honor in the United States
  • Festival Days of shows and concerts; the city of the battle holds an international one
  • Fiesta Party, in the language of Mexico
  • Fireworks Mexican miners in gold country set these off when the news came
  • Float Rolling stage, covered in flowers or paper, that carries waving riders
  • Gracias What to say in Mexico when someone hands you a plate
  • Heritage What a family hands down; in the United States the day honors the Mexican kind
  • Hola Greeting in Mexico that begins with a silent letter
  • Los Angeles West Coast city that held one of the first celebrations with speakers in 1863
  • Papel picado Its Spanish name means perforated paper
  • Parade In the city of the battle, marchers in it dress as the two armies
  • Piñata Container of papier-mâché or clay, decorated, filled with candy and then broken
  • Plaza Where the bandstand and the benches are, in a Mexican town
  • Reenactment Acting out the battle again, as the city does each year
  • Streamer Party decoration unrolled from a paper spool
  • Streets Where a marching band goes; one in Mexico City was named for the battle in 1862
  • Tradition A way of celebrating that grandparents pass to grandchildren
  • Viva Spanish cheer that means "long live"

Music and Dance 34

  • Accordion Squeezebox with keys or buttons, played in norteño groups
  • Braid Three strands of hair woven into one
  • Charro Traditional horseman of Mexico, whose style of suit the strolling players wear
  • Chorus The lines of a song that everyone joins in on
  • Corrido Mexican ballad that tells a story
  • Dancer Person who moves in time to the music
  • Drum It booms at the front of a marching band
  • Embroidery Designs stitched in thread on a blouse or dress
  • Folklórico Baile ___: the name for the traditional dances of Mexico as a group
  • Grito Spanish for shout: a Mexican cheer something like a cowboy's yeehaw
  • Guitar Six strings and a long neck, strummed or plucked
  • Guitarrón Bass whose Spanish name means it is a big one
  • Hat In English, Mexico's national dance is the Mexican ___ dance
  • Huarache Traditional sandal of Mexico, with woven leather straps
  • Jalisco Western state named as the birthplace of Mexico's best-known strolling groups
  • Jarabe The ___ tapatío is called Mexico's national dance
  • Maraca Rattle shaken by a handle, usually played as one of a pair
  • Mariachi Mexican strolling band of strings and brass, dressed in horsemen's suits
  • Marimba Percussion instrument struck with mallets, lower in range than a xylophone
  • Melody String of notes that you would whistle
  • Ranchera Traditional Mexican song style whose name comes from the ranch
  • Rebozo Long flat garment, much like a shawl, worn mostly by women in Mexico
  • Rhythm The beat that stamping heels keep
  • Ribbon Narrow strip of bright cloth tied or woven into the hair
  • Serape Brightly colored blanket-like cloak worn in Mexico, especially by men
  • Serenade Evening music beneath a window
  • Singer Person whose voice carries the words of a song
  • Skirt Wide and bright, it swirls with every turn
  • Sombrero Wide-brimmed Mexican headwear that shades the face from the sun
  • Trumpet Brass voice of a Mexican strolling group, which usually has two
  • Twirl To whirl on the spot so the cloth flares
  • Vihuela Small Mexican stringed instrument with five strings and a rounded back
  • Violin Bowed instrument; eight of them can stand in one Mexican strolling group
  • Zapateado Mexican dancing marked by the lively striking of shoes on the floor

Food 41

  • Agua fresca Cool drink of fruit, water and sugar
  • Avocado Fruit named from ahuacatl, a word of the Aztecs' language
  • Beans Frijoles, in English
  • Burrito Flour wrap closed around its filling like a cylinder
  • Cemita Sandwich on a sesame-seed roll that comes from the city of the battle
  • Chalupa Fried snack shaped like the small boat it is named for
  • Chili Any hot pepper
  • Chocolate Food made from cacao seeds, known in early Mexico mostly as a drink
  • Churro Stick of fried dough piped through a star-shaped nozzle
  • Cilantro Leafy herb chopped over a finished dish
  • Comal Kitchen tool of Mexico and Central America: smooth, flat and hot
  • Concha Mexican sweet bread named for its seashell look
  • Corn Grain on a cob, called maize in much of the world
  • Elote At town fairs it comes on a stick, seasoned and ready to eat
  • Enchilada Its name means seasoned with hot pepper
  • Feast Tables full of food for a celebration
  • Flan Caramel custard, as Spanish-speaking countries often call it
  • Guacamole "Guac" for short: a dip, a spread or a salad
  • Horchata Sweet Mexican rice drink flavored with a brown bark spice
  • Jalapeño Medium-hot pepper named for the city of Xalapa
  • Jicama Crunchy root vegetable that came from Mexico and Central America
  • Lime Small sour citrus, cut in wedges and squeezed over a plate
  • Masa Dough of ground maize, the start of many Mexican dishes
  • Molcajete Mexican version of the mortar and pestle
  • Mole Dark sauce of peppers, nuts and spices; the classic kind is named for the battle's city
  • Nachos Chips under melted cheese, first made in a Mexican border town in the 1940s
  • Nogada Chiles en ___: stuffed peppers under a walnut sauce, in the national colors
  • Nopal Pad of the prickly pear, cooked as a vegetable
  • Paleta Mexican ice pop
  • Poblano Mild pepper named for the place of the battle, where it comes from
  • Pozole Hearty soup made from hominy with meat
  • Quesadilla Its name starts with queso, the Spanish word for its filling
  • Salsa Spanish for sauce
  • Spicy Hot on the tongue
  • Taco Crunchy or soft, it holds beef, pork, chicken or seafood in a fold
  • Tamale Steamed dough in a husk or leaf wrapping that is thrown away or used as a plate
  • Tomatillo Small tart fruit that grows inside a papery husk
  • Tomato Fruit named from tomatl, a word of the Aztecs' language
  • Tortilla Round, unleavened and thin: the wrap of Mexican cooking
  • Tostada Its name is the Spanish word for toasted
  • Vanilla Familiar ice cream flavor, taken from a Mesoamerican plant

Mexico: Places and Symbols 30

  • Angels The old name of the city of the battle called it the town "of the ___"
  • Anthem What a stadium stands to sing before the game
  • Axolotl Amphibian of Xochimilco that grows up without changing its shape
  • Aztec People whose legend of a bird on a prickly pear is told on the coat of arms
  • Burro A small donkey, in Mexico and the Southwest
  • Cactus Prickly plant on which the bird of the national emblem stands
  • Chihuahua Mexico's largest state by area, which shares its name with a tiny dog
  • Dahlia Mexico's national flower
  • Desert Dry land; the Chihuahuan one covers parts of northern Mexico
  • Eagle Bird of prey that, in Mexico's legend, would mark the spot for a city
  • Flag Mexico's has three upright stripes
  • Green Color on Mexico's tricolor that matches fresh grass
  • Jaguar Third-largest cat in the world, after the tiger and the lion
  • Lake Texcoco was one; most of it was drained, and Mexico City fills its basin
  • Monarch Orange and black butterfly; many fly from Canada and the United States to Mexico in fall
  • Nahuatl Uto-Aztecan tongue with more than a million and a half speakers in Mexico
  • Pacific The world's largest ocean, on Mexico's western side
  • Peso Mexico's money
  • Poinsettia Plant of Mexico and Central America that Europeans first described in 1834
  • Popocatépetl Active volcano on the edge of the state where the battle was fought
  • Pyramid The Great one of Cholula is the largest by volume known in the world
  • Red Color on Mexico's tricolor that matches a ripe strawberry
  • Rio Grande Major river on the border of Mexico and the United States, called the Bravo in Mexico
  • Sierra Madre Name shared by the great mountain ranges of Mexico
  • Snake The golden bird of the national emblem holds one in its beak and claw
  • Talavera Tin-glazed pottery made in and around the city of the battle
  • Tejano Word from Spanish for a Mexican American from the Lone Star State
  • Tenochtitlan Its 600th birthday was marked in 1925; Mexico City now fills its valley
  • White Color of the stripe that holds the coat of arms on Mexico's tricolor
  • Yucatán Large peninsula in Mexico's southeast

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site for grades 3 to 8. The history of May 5, 1862 follows the English Wikipedia articles Cinco de Mayo and Battle of Puebla; the food, music and symbol clues follow the Wikipedia article on each subject, and the Spanish words were checked in Wiktionary, all in October 2026. No brand or living person is in the bank. Unofficial classroom practice. Licence: own work

How it works

This Cinco de Mayo crossword puzzle is a vocabulary crossword on Letter or A4. The first puzzle has 12 easy words, among them Puebla, May, Fifth, Parade, Mariachi, Fiesta and Flag, with a word bank under the clues.

Read the full guide

Five sets, from the battle to the table

The Battle of Puebla, 1862 has Zaragoza, Loreto, Cavalry and Telegraph. Parades and Celebrations has Reenactment, Piñata and Papel picado. Music and Dance has Vihuela, Zapateado and Corrido. Food has Mole, Tamale and Cemita. Mexico: Places and Symbols has Eagle, Nahuatl and Talavera.

History in the clues

The battle clues give what happened: the fighting broke out at noon, the French attacked uphill three times, and then the Mexican cavalry charged. The grid takes plain letters, so Piñata goes in as PINATA.

  • For a Spanish class, print Food: Horchata, Elote and Tomatillo keep their Spanish names.

Questions and answers

Is this Cinco de Mayo crossword puzzle printable?

Yes. Press Print for the puzzle, its clues and the word bank; the answer key prints last, on a sheet of its own. It is free, with no sign-up.

Are there harder Cinco de Mayo crossword puzzles for older students?

Yes. Choose The Battle of Puebla, 1862 under Clue set for Maximilian, Veracruz and Outnumbered. Easy Cinco de Mayo Words suits grades 3 and 4, the five themed sets grades 5 to 8. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

What does Cinco de Mayo celebrate?

Mexico's victory over a French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is not Mexico's Independence Day, which is September 16.

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