El Grito—the Cry of Independence—Which Started Mexico’s Revolution Against Spain
At dawn on Sunday, September 16, 1810, while Napoleon’s troops were occupying Spain and King Ferdinand VII of Spain was still in captivity, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a fifty-seven-year-old priest from an old family of creoles (Mexican-born Spaniards) launched the movement that resulted in Mexico's independence. He had begun to harangue his parishioners in the small town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato, "seducing them" (according to a chronicle of the time) to rise up in arms - even with stones, slings, sticks or spears - in order to defend their religion against the "French heretics" who had occupied Spain since 1808 and now threatened to come over to the Americas.
Alerted by Josefa Ortiz de Dominquez ("La Corregidora") that his revolutionary plot had been discovered and that he would soon be arrested, he brought his plans forward and, with the Grito de Dolores delivered in religious language from the belfry of his church his cry of defiance against the usurpers of authority and the enemies of Fernando VII. In doing this, Hidalgo started the great revolt of 1810. His battle cry was: "Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe, and Death to the Spaniards!"
What Hidalgo intended - and accomplished - was to launch his flock against the hated Gachupines (Spaniards born in Spain and living in Mexico) "who had been exploiting the wealth of the Mexican people with the greatest injustice for three hundred years." Within a month, he had been joined by more than fifty thousand men, mainly Indians from the poorest levels of society. Attracted by his religious magnetism and by other, less noble motives (such as the looting that accompanied Hidalgo's victories), this multitude devastated the cities of San Miguel, Celaya, and Guanajuato.
In less than a year he was at the gates of Mexico City, with an army big enough to capture it. For reasons that have puzzled historians he retreated. Some analysts point out that he feared he could not control the mob--stopping rape, murder, and looting that probably would have occurred--once they had taken the city, which while unguarded, was to receive reinforcements soon.
He was apprehended in a battle along with other leaders of the revolution, among them Ignacio Allende, Jose Mariano Jimenez and Juan Aldama. Since he was a clergyman Hidalgo could not be immediately executed. A few months later, in July of 1811, he was tried by the Inquisition and excommunicated. Subsequently he was condemned to death by the civil authorities. The four leaders were executed in Chihuahua, three of them on June 26, 1811 and Miguel Hidalgo on July 30, 1811 After being decapitated their heads were put in the four corners of the Alhndiga de Granaditas in Guanajuato as a way to scare off the revolution.
But by then the seed had begun to sprout. The Mexican War of Independence, a truly popular movement led by four hundred armed parish priests, ended in 1821 with Mexico being an independent nation.
On September 15, 1910 in preparation for the 100th anniversary of Mexico's independence special envoys from Spain gathered on the illuminated balconies of the National Palace and watched the fiesta of all fiestas in preparation for the Grito de Independencia, the "cry of independence" that was to arrive with the coming dawn. However, at 11:00 pm on September 15, 1910, President Porfirio Díaz stood on the main balcony of the National Palace, and once again rang the same bell Hidalgo had rung in Dolores. He shouted several Vivas: "Long Live the Heroes of the Nation!" "Long Live the Republic!" Below him, in the majestic zocalo that, from the days of the Aztecs had been the ceremonial heart of the Mexican Nation, a hundred thousand voices shouted in reply "¡VIVA!"
But why had the President delivered this Grito at 11 p.m. on the night of the September 15th rather than at dawn on September 16th, when it all really began? A minor historical license: September 15 was the Day of Saint Porfirio (a Greek saint of the fourth century) and the birthday of President Porfirio Díaz. Thus today Mexico's Independence Day celebration lasts two days.
The Cry of Independence (El Grito de Dolores) – September 15th at 11pm
and
Mexico’s Independence Day (Día de la Independencía) – September 16th
September 15th is a civic holiday, not a statutory holiday, celebrating El Grito de Dolores (The Cry of Independence) which started the revolution in which Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Employees do not receive a day off (with or without pay). Banks, schools, government offices, and most businesses are open.
Independence Day, which is on September 16th, is a Mexican federal statuary holiday. Employees are entitled to a day off with pay plus overtime pay if they are required to work on the holiday. When Independence Day falls on a Saturday the preceding Friday is designated the statutory holiday; when it falls on a Sunday the following Monday becomes the statutory holiday. Banks, schools, government offices, and many businesses are closed for the Independence Day statutory holiday.
Independence Day festivities begin on the day of El Grito, which is September 15th, and continue, to a lesser extent, on September 16th, which is Independence Day (the reason celebrations begin on the night before Independence Day is explained below) much as New Years is celebrated more on New Year’s Eve, than on New Year’s Day. New Year’s Eve and El Grito are the most festive days in Mexican culture—the days on which Mexicans party the hardest.
The cultural celebrations always occur on September 15th and, to a lesser extent, on September 16th, which—as explained above—is not always the date of the statutory holiday. Just as New Year’s Day is a day when people rest following their New Year’s Eve partying, so it is that on Independence Day (September 16th) the major activity is resting after a long night of celebrating El Grito on the night of September 15th.
El Grito Celebrations
Early in the evening on September 15th the people begin partying (much as they do on New Year’s Eve) in anticipation of El Grito de Dolores (the Shout or Cry of Independence) which will be given at 11:00 p.m. One sees people headed to the town square, one sees cars honking their horns filled with people waving flags, and other such activities. (Expect heavy traffic--in some places to the point of gridlock--as well as many accidents resulting from vehicles being operated by drunk drivers.)
This event has since assumed an almost mythical status. Since the late 19th century, Hidalgo’s “cry of independence” has become emblematic of Mexican independence.
Each year on the night of September 15th at eleven in the evening, the President of Mexico rings the bell of the National Palace in Mexico City. After the ringing of the bell, he repeats a cry of patriotism (a Grito Mexicano) based upon the "Grito de Dolores", with the names of the important heroes of the Mexican War of Independence and ending with the threefold shout of ¡Viva México! from the balcony of the palace to the assembled crowd in the Plaza de la Constitución, or Zócalo, one of the largest public plazas in the world. After the shouting, he rings the bell again and waves the Flag of Mexico to the applause of the crowd, and is followed by the playing and mass singing of the Himno Nacional Mexicano, the national anthem. This event draws up to half a million spectators from all over Mexico and tourists worldwide. On the morning of September 16th, or Independence Day, the national military parade starts in the Zócalo, passes the Hidalgo Memorial and ends on the Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City’s main boulevard.
A similar celebration occurs in cities and towns all over Mexico, and in Mexican embassies and consulates worldwide, on September 15th. The mayor (or governor, in the case of state capitals and ambassadors or consuls in the case of overseas celebrations), rings a bell and gives the traditional words, with the names of Mexican independence heroes included, ending with the threefold shout of Viva Mexico!, the bell ringing for the second time, the waving of the Mexican flag and the mass singing of the National Anthem by everyone in attendance.
In the 19th century, it became common practice for Mexican presidents in their final year in office to re-enact the Grito in Dolores Hidalgo, rather than in the National Palace. President Calderón officiated at the Grito in Dolores Hidalgo as part of the bicentennial celebrations in 2010 on the 16th of September, even though he had launched the national bicentennial celebrations, in the National Palace balcony on the night of the 15th. As a result, the 2011 commemoration (his last as President) was held in the National Palace balcony instead of in Dolores Hidalgo.
The following day, September 16th, is Independence Day in Mexico and is considered a patriotic holiday, or fiesta patria (literally, holiday of the Fatherland). This day is marked by parades, patriotic programs, drum and bugle and marching band competitions, and special programs on the national and local media outlets, even concerts.
The Cry of Dolores Today (translated):
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 Aldama and Matamoros!
Long live National Independence!
Long Live Mexico!
Long Live Mexico!
Long Live Mexico!
El Grito—the Cry of Independence—Which Started Mexico’s Revolution Against Spain
At dawn on Sunday, September 16, 1810, while Napoleon’s troops were occupying Spain and King Ferdinand VII of Spain was still in captivity, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a fifty-seven-year-old priest from an old family of creoles (Mexican-born Spaniards) launched the movement that resulted in Mexico's independence. He had begun to harangue his parishioners in the small town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato, "seducing them" (according to a chronicle of the time) to rise up in arms - even with stones, slings, sticks or spears - in order to defend their religion against the "French heretics" who had occupied Spain since 1808 and now threatened to come over to the Americas.
Alerted by Josefa Ortiz de Dominquez ("La Corregidora") that his revolutionary plot had been discovered and that he would soon be arrested, he brought his plans forward and, with the Grito de Dolores delivered in religious language from the belfry of his church his cry of defiance against the usurpers of authority and the enemies of Fernando VII. In doing this, Hidalgo started the great revolt of 1810. His battle cry was: "Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe, and Death to the Spaniards!"
What Hidalgo intended - and accomplished - was to launch his flock against the hated Gachupines (Spaniards born in Spain and living in Mexico) "who had been exploiting the wealth of the Mexican people with the greatest injustice for three hundred years." Within a month, he had been joined by more than fifty thousand men, mainly Indians from the poorest levels of society. Attracted by his religious magnetism and by other, less noble motives (such as the looting that accompanied Hidalgo's victories), this multitude devastated the cities of San Miguel, Celaya, and Guanajuato.
In less than a year he was at the gates of Mexico City, with an army big enough to capture it. For reasons that have puzzled historians he retreated. Some analysts point out that he feared he could not control the mob--stopping rape, murder, and looting that probably would have occurred--once they had taken the city, which while unguarded, was to receive reinforcements soon.
He was apprehended in a battle along with other leaders of the revolution, among them Ignacio Allende, Jose Mariano Jimenez and Juan Aldama. Since he was a clergyman Hidalgo could not be immediately executed. A few months later, in July of 1811, he was tried by the Inquisition and excommunicated. Subsequently he was condemned to death by the civil authorities. The four leaders were executed in Chihuahua, three of them on June 26, 1811 and Miguel Hidalgo on July 30, 1811 After being decapitated their heads were put in the four corners of the Alhndiga de Granaditas in Guanajuato as a way to scare off the revolution.
But by then the seed had begun to sprout. The Mexican War of Independence, a truly popular movement led by four hundred armed parish priests, ended in 1821 with Mexico being an independent nation.
On September 15, 1910 in preparation for the 100th anniversary of Mexico's independence special envoys from Spain gathered on the illuminated balconies of the National Palace and watched the fiesta of all fiestas in preparation for the Grito de Independencia, the "cry of independence" that was to arrive with the coming dawn. However, at 11:00 pm on September 15, 1910, President Porfirio Díaz stood on the main balcony of the National Palace, and once again rang the same bell Hidalgo had rung in Dolores. He shouted several Vivas: "Long Live the Heroes of the Nation!" "Long Live the Republic!" Below him, in the majestic zocalo that, from the days of the Aztecs had been the ceremonial heart of the Mexican Nation, a hundred thousand voices shouted in reply "¡VIVA!"
But why had the President delivered this Grito at 11 p.m. on the night of the September 15th rather than at dawn on September 16th, when it all really began? A minor historical license: September 15 was the Day of Saint Porfirio (a Greek saint of the fourth century) and the birthday of President Porfirio Díaz. Thus today Mexico's Independence Day celebration lasts two days.
September 15-16 verses September 27 as Mexico’s Independence Day
Although Miguel Hidalgo started the war that resulted in Mexico’s independence from Spain he never lived to see Mexico achieve independence. He was captured by Royalist forces and executed on July 30, 1811.
For a number of years following the death of Hidalgo and Jose Maria Morelos the revolution was leaderless and ineffective. Guerilla warfare continued being conduced by small independent groups scarred throughout Mexico. A stalemate resulted with Royalist forces gaining supremacy but being unable to completely wipe out the independent revolutionary forces. Spain, faced with domestic unrest and a disintegrating empire, in 1812 adopted a constitution promulgated by Spanish liberals.
In time Mexican conservatives came to see Spain’s new government as a threat and switched their support to the revolutionary movement. Agustin de Iturbide, a conservative, became the leader of these forces. It was when forces under his command entered Mexico City on September 27, 1821, after the defeat of the forces loyal to Spain, that a governing junta was established and Mexico finally became independent of Spanish rule.
Thus it was Agustin de Iturbide, not Miguel Hidalgo, who finally obtained Mexico’s independence from Spain on September 27, 1821. Shortly after gaining independence, the day to celebrate Mexico’s Independence varied between September 15-16th, the day of Hidalgo's Grito, and September 27th the day Iturbide rode into Mexico City ending the Spanish rule over Mexico.
Later political movements would favor the more liberal Hidalgo over the conservative Iturbide as the Father of the Mexican Nation. Consequently in time September 16, 1810 became the officially recognized day of Mexican independence. The reason being is that Hidalgo is considered to be precursor and creator of the rest of the heroes of the Mexican War of Independence.
Thus there was a time when Austin de Iturbide was seen as the Father of his County and September 27th as Mexico’s Independence Day. It would be as if at one time in American history that Samuel Adams, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, was seen as the Father of His Country and October 19th was celebrated as America’s Independence Day because of the surrender of the British forces at Yorktown on October 19, 1781 that ended the American Revolutionary War hostilities.
Austin de Iturbide and the September 27th celebrations have become footnotes in Mexican history. Today, of course, it is Miguel Hidalgo who is seen as the Father of the Nation and Mexico’s independence from Spain is celebrated on September 15-16.
Hidalgo has become an icon for Mexicans who resist tyranny. Diego Rivera painted Hidalgo's image in half a dozen murals. José Clemente Orozco depicted him with a flaming torch of liberty and considered the painting among his best work. David Alfaro Siqueiros was commissioned by San Nicolas University in Morelia to paint a mural for a celebration commemorating the 200th anniversary of Hidalgo's birth. The town of his parish was renamed Dolores Hidalgo in his honor and the state of Hidalgo was created in 1869.
Today Hidalgo is seen as the Father of the Nation and every year on the night of September 15th, the president of Mexico re-enacts the Grito from the balcony of the National Palace at 11 pm as part of Mexico’s two day independence celebration. This scene is repeated by the heads of cities and towns all over Mexico.