On Wednesday, September 16th, Mexico will celebrate its Independence Day.
You may be thinking already, “I thought Cinco de Mayo was Mexico’s independence day!” If you are, you’re not alone; many people mistakenly believe Cinco de Mayo, or “the fifth of May,” is the day Mexico won its independence. This error makes sense; the name of the holiday makes us think of our Independence Day on the Fourth of July, and Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in many ways that we would associate with independence: fireworks, parades and food.
However, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s independence day, but instead celebrates the anniversary of a famous battle between the Mexicans and the French. Stay tuned for more about that in May…
Back to Independence Day, however, and the festivities that takeplace in Mexico. Throughout the country, Mexicans celebrate by gathering in town squares, decorating with red, white and green (the colors of the Mexican flag), eating delicious pozole and chiles en nogada, a festive dish that is also red, white and green.
Every year on the evening of September 15th, the event is celebrated with the president of Mexico appearing before a crowd to recite el Grito de Dolores (“the cry of Dolores), a speech loosely based on another speech made by Miguel Hidalgo from a church in the town of Dolores in 1810. Hidalgo’s proclamation of Mexico’s right to be free is traditionally considered to have significance similar to that of our Declaration of Independence. While no one knows the exact words Hidalgo said on that day in 1810, the speech recited to this day shares the same spirit: the message that Mexico should be free.
Below is the Grito de Dolores as it exists today, which lists famous Mexican heroes.
¡Mexicanos! ¡Vivan los héroes que nos dieron patria! ¡Víva Hidalgo! ¡Viva Morelos! ¡Viva Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez! ¡Viva Allende! ¡Vivan Aldama y Matamoros! ¡Viva la independencia nacional! ¡Viva México! ¡Viva México! ¡Viva México! |
Mexicans! Long live the heroes that gave us the Fatherland! Long live Hidalgo! Long live Morelos! Long live Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez! Long live Allende! Long live Galena and the Bravos! Long live Aldama and Matamoros! Long live National Independence! Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico! |