Monday, September 10, 2007
Mexican Independence Day
By Allan Wall
Every nation needs symbols, traditions and celebrations,
to affirm its identity and pass its traditions to the next generation. That’s
why national holidays are important.
One of the most popular Mexican patriotic holidays
is Diez y Seis de Septiembre (the 16th of September), Mexican Independence
Day. It celebrates the independence of Mexico, from Spain, in the early 19th
century.
As Independence Day approaches one sees more Mexican
flags, of various sizes, being sold on street corners. My university is festooned
with green, red and white streamers — the colors of the Mexican flag.
Mexican Independence Day really begins on the night
of September 15th, at the traditional Grito observance. Grito means “shout” or “cry.” It commemorates
the manner in which Miguel Hidalgo, considered the father of Mexico, publicly initiated what became the Mexican independence
movement, in 1810.
This was in the town of Dolores, now renamed Dolores
Hidalgo, in central Mexico. Hidalgo, a priest, gathered the people in front of the church on the plaza, where he gave a speech
and rang the bell, and called the people to action.
(Today tourists can visit Dolores Hidalgo, see the
same church and tour Hidalgo’s house.)
In commemoration of Hidalgo’s original Grito, the time-honored tradition is for Mexicans to gather in plazas in Mexican cities large and small. There are speeches and performances. At 11:00 p.m., the mayor, on the balcony, waves
a flag and shouts Vivas in honor of Hidalgo and other Independence figures, and
of course “Viva Mexico!” Then fireworks are detonated.
On the 16th, no school is held (this year
it’s Sunday anyway). There are parades, including a massive Mexican military parade in Mexico City.
Another custom is the bullfight on the afternoon
of the 16th. It might seem ironic to stage a bullfight to celebrate
Mexico’s independence from Spain. On the other hand, though Spanish political control was ended Spanish culture never
left Mexico. In fact, it’s still the principal cultural influence.
The study of the Mexican War of Independence is a
fascinating one. One soon finds that it is quite complex. It involved the various social classes in Mexico. It was closely
linked to what was going on in Spain and Europe. It lasted 11 years (from 1810-1821),
it consisted of several phases, and it was led by men of diverse ideologies. Even
the role and importance of Hidalgo is now being questioned.
Before independence, Mexico was part of a vast Spanish
Empire stretching from California to Tierra del Fuego, in the chilly southern extremity of South America.
But in 1808 Spain was conquered by Napoleon. What then became of Spain’s empire?
Napoleon was famously disinterested in the
Western Hemisphere (which is why he sold the Louisiana Territory to the US). This
created a power vacuum in the Spanish Empire, and nature abhors a vacuum. So
Napoleon indirectly triggered various independence movements throughout the empire.
In Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo’s insurgency, which
began in 1810, was not officially directed against the deposed Spanish monarchy, but against the Spanish authorities who were
then running Mexico. Hidalgo was captured and shot in 1811.
The most famous leader of the next phase of the movement
was Jose Morelos, another priest, who had been a student of Hidalgo. It was during
the Morelos phase that an independent Mexico became the concrete public goal of the insurgency.
Morelos was captured and executed in 1815. By this time Napoleon had been driven out of Spain and the Spanish tried to keep their empire. But the
damage had been done, and the Spaniards were soon to lose all their mainland possessions in the Western Hemisphere.
After Morelos’ death, Mexican guerrilla movements
led by Vicente Guerrero, Guadalupe Victoria, and others continued to resist the Spanish government. But they didn’t
really amount to much.
Ironically, it was the Mexican royalists’ switching
sides that brought about independence. In 1820, a new government took power in
Spain. Suddenly the Mexican royalists, who had been loyal to Spain all these
years, decided that they would rather rule an independent Mexico. So they sent General Agustin
de Iturbide (who had been fighting the royalists all these years) to make a pact with the guerilla leader Guerrero,
who agreed to it. In August of 1821, the Spanish viceroy in Mexico recognized the independence of Mexico and signed the Treaty
of Cordoba.
On September 27th, Iturbide’s army
entered Mexico City, and on the 28th of September, an independent Mexico was officially declared.
Allan Wall, a MexiData.info columnist, recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.
He currently resides in Mexico, where he has lived since 1991. He can be reached via e-mail at allan39@prodigy.net.mx.
