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Independence Day Celebrations
At 11:00 p.m. on Sept. 15, all across the nation over 105 million Mexicans and almost two million foreigners who are officially living here celebrated Mexico's independence from Spanish rule. Outside of Mexico, around 20 million Mexicans who live in the United States also honored their homeland's independence with major celebrations in Los Angeles, Washington and Dallas.
 Commonly known as "El Grito" ("shout" or "cry"), Independence Day festivities are marked by the President of Mexico ringing Hidalgo's bell - originally the bell was in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato, but has since been transplanted to the National Palace in the capital's main square otherwise known as the Zocalo - and infront of thousands of Mexicans the President leads the nation in saluting past heroes of the independence movement.
El Grito is actually a reenactment of when Miguel Hidalgo - the founding father of Mexican independence - rang the bell himself in his home town of Dolores and called for insurrection against the ruling Spanish monarchy back in 1810. It wasn't until 11 years later in 1821 that Mexico actually achieved autonomy ironically helped by royalists, loyal to the Spanish throne, switching allegiances. In honor of Hidalgo's achievements his home town was renamed Dolores Hidalgo soon after independence was achieved.
Infact, the same reenactment that happens in the capital's Zocalo is performed in cities and towns all across Mexico. Municipal presidents or mayors will carry out the same Grito as dramatized by the president with the traditional cry for "Viva Mexico!" which is repeated several times at the end of the eulogy.
Last year, the Grito was mired in controversy as it came amidst of a hotly-contested presidential election that spilled into national protests led by the left-leaning Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The PRD presidential nominee had lost the 2006 elections by a whisker to National Action Party's (PAN) Felipe Calderon. Lopez Obrador refused to recognize the legitimacy of the result and staged massive protests and blockades along the capital's principal avenue and main square.
To avoid confrontation with Lopez Obrador supporters and aggravating an already tense situation, incumbent President Vicente Fox decided to perform the Grito in Dolores Hidalgo. A break from a more than century-old tradition raised a few eyebrows but was largely welcomed as the best way to diffuse any possible conflict. Lopez Obrador's replacement as Mayor of Mexico City, Alejandro Encinas, performed the Grito in the Zocalo in Fox's absence.
This year, tensions again seem to be running high as both the PRD - who have control of Mexico City - and the PAN - who run the federal government - were trying to outdo each other by setting up their own stages in the Zocalo for the Sept. 15 celebrations. Petulant or justified, the PRD performed a separate Grito at 9.30 p.m., an hour and a half before the traditional ceremony, after which many of their supporters went home. As long as the divide remains in federal and state power between the PRD and PAN the future of the Grito in Mexico City looks to be a contentious affair.
However, around the nation, the Grito was celebrated in a much more unified fashion with less onus on politics and more on national pride. It must be remembered that Mexico was the first nation in the Spanish-speaking Americas to abolish slavery, establish new economic bases (trade with other nations was forbidden during the Spanish Viceroyalty) and earn political freedom.
These are the accomplishments that embody the spirit of the Independence Day festivities and are celebrated with breathtaking firework displays, egg shells filled with confetti and music and songs that represent hundreds of years of tradition and culture. Sept. 15 does not lend itself to an uncomfortable sense of jingoism but a genuinely deep joy in recognizing a race of people born out of Western and Amerindian civilizations.
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