How to Celebrate Mexican Independence Day
And no, it's not celebrated on Cinco de Mayo
Greetings from Morelia, Michoacán!
Today kicks off Mexico’s Independence Day celebrations, and this city is draped in the red, green, and white of the Mexican flag.
Tonight’s festivities culminate a month of national pride - and given the recent controversy around gringos in Mexico City, I’d like to share a little history to help my fellow foreigners better appreciate one of Mexico’s favorite holidays.
Mexico Was Once Capital of New Spain
When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs in 1521, Cortez ordered a Spanish city to be constructed directly on top of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, which was built on an island in the middle of the lake where Mexico City now stands.
This Spanish city became the capital of the Vice Royalty of New Spain, which once stretched as far north as the South Western United States, south through Central America to the top of South America, and even included various Pacific Islands.
This weekend, Mexico celebrates declaring independence from Spanish rule.
Napoleon (Kind of) Started it
The lead-up to the Mexican Revolution is complex, but when Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, it delegitimized Spanish rule throughout the colonies. With the King dethroned, the kingdom struggled to maintain control of its overseas possessions.
American-born Spaniards from Mexico to Argentina started conspiring to cut ties with Spain and declare independence. Starting in 1810, a wave of independence movements swept all of Latin America until by 1836, Spain renounced sovereignty over all of continental America.
The Cry of Dolores
Mexican Independence Day commemorates the moment in 1810 when a Catholic priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla kicked off the uprising by ringing the bells of his church at 11 PM on September, 15th, 1810 in the town of Dolores, Guanajuato.
He rallied his congregation to take up arms in a speech known as “ El Grito de Dolores” or “The Cry of Dolores.” Hidalgo is now considered the father of Mexican independence for inspiring the initial uprising and popularizing the slogans, “¡Viva Mexico!” and “¡Viva la Independencia!”
Hidalgo’s bell now sits in the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, the residence of the Mexican President. And tonight it will be rung at 11 PM before a packed crowd, making Mexico City’s Zócalo a popular place of celebration.
The Celebration Lasts Two Days
The entire month of September revolves around the celebration (this is also why it is Hispanic Heritage Month in the US).
Because El Grito happened just before midnight, the celebration starts on the evening of the 15th (The Day of the Cry of Dolores) and continues into the 16th, which is the official independence Day. Church bells are rung to announce the celebration.
Every year, the Mexican President and many local mayors read out Hidalgo’s speech at 11 PM on the 15th. Fireworks follow and parties last late into the night.
On the 16th, many towns hold an independence day parade, complete with charros on horseback and folk dances. Most businesses are closed.
Shouting Viva Mexico! is appropriate during both days - and the rest of the year, really.
Must Try Food: Chiles en Nogada
Mexico’s national dish is chiles en nogada, a green poblano chile stuffed with meat and cheese, bathed in a walnut cream sauce, and topped with pomegranate seeds.
According to legend, this dish originates in Puebla, where local nuns prepared it for Agustin de Iturbide after signing the treaty that granted Mexico’s independence.
Together, these colors represent the colors of the Mexican flag. It is only served in the month or so leading up to September 16th.
The Cradle of Independence
One of the best destinations to celebrate the holiday is in the town where it happened, now renamed Dolores Hidalgo in honor of its most famous son. This area is now known as “la Cuna de la Independencia” or “the cradle of independence.”
Nearby cities also produced revolutionary leaders and are good places to celebrate, such as San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato.
Mexico City naturally holds a huge celebration, mostly concentrated in the Zocalo (main square) where Hidalgo’s bell is rung for tens of thousands of patriots.
I’m writing this from Morelia, the birthplace of the revolutionary leader José María Morelos, and I can attest that this is a great place to absorb the national spirit.
Lastly, It’s Not 5 de Mayo
This may be obvious to most of you, but worth repeating. Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexican independence. It commemorates a much later victory over an invading French army in Puebla and is only really celebrated locally in Puebla. But it’s popular in the US because American marketers thought “cinco de mayo” was easier to pronounce than “dieciseis de Septiembre.”
Finally, Mexican Independence Day is not the same as the Mexican Revolution, which could be considered more of an internal civil war and is celebrated on November 20th. To learn more about the Mexican Revolution, I’ll be diving into the book Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire and Revolution in the Borderlands, by Kelly Lytle Hernández.
Dive Deeper
If you’d like to deepen your understanding of Mexico, please join us in reading this month’s book club pick, a Mexican masterpiece of magical realism.
And for more writing on Mexico, travel and the future of social media and remote work, please consider subscribing to The Missive.
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¡Viva México!
-Marko
For readers in Europe, do you have plans to do the book club at a more 'neutral' time?