Dear International Living Reader,
Here in Mexico, we’re gearing up for a weekend of fiestas. We’ll be celebrating one of Mexico’s most popular holidays: Independence Day. We enjoy this time of year here in Mexico, especially because we live in El Bajío…the "cradle" of the Mexican Independence movement.
The chief instigator of the Mexican Independence movement was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the parish priest of the small town of Dolores, just down the road from where we live.
Soon after becoming a priest, Father Hidalgo opened his home to the indigenous and mestizo people of his community, holding discussion groups where all were welcome. They talked about current events and social reform. From these informal discussions, the independence movement started to take shape.
Hildalgo reached out to others who shared his views. Chief among them were Ignacio Allende (San Miguel de Allende bears his name), Juan de Aldama, and José Mariano Jiminez. They began to promote the idea of an uprising by the native and mixed-blood peasants against wealthy Spanish land-owners. They planned to launch their revolt in October of 1810.
Unfortunately, their plans were discovered in early September of that year. The conspirators were alerted–famously, by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, la Corregidora, the wife of the Magistrate of Querétaro–that orders had been sent for their arrest. The movement was in trouble. They had two alternatives: either abandon their plans, or move faster and start the revolt immediately. Hidalgo decided on the latter.
In the pre-dawn hours of September 16, 1810, 57-year-old Father Hidalgo opened the jails, imprisoned the local Spanish authorities, and began the general call to arms. He rang the church bells and summoned the people of Dolores and asked them to join him against the Spanish government and wealthy aristocrats. The speech he gave then is now known as " El Grito de Independencia."
"Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Death to bad government! Death to the gachupines!" he shouted. The crowd responded enthusiastically, and soon an angry mob of ragtag revolutionaries, armed with stones and machetes, was marching toward the regional capital in Guanajuato. The miners of Guanajuato joined in the massacre of all those who resisted the revolutionaries, including the local chief colonial official.
Less than a year later, the four primary leaders of the movement for independence–Ignacio Allende, Juan de Aldama, José Mariano Jiminez, and Father Hidalgo–were executed and beheaded. Their heads were hung in cages on the four outside corners of the Alhóndiga in Guanajuato, and they hung there until independence was won 10 years later in 1821.
The followers of Father Hidalgo were not daunted by his death. If anything, it inspired them even more in their fight for freedom. The revolution would last 11 years and extract a heavy toll of human life on both sides. As Father Hidalgo hoped, however, it eventually led to Mexico’s independence from Spain.
Every year, Father Hidalgo’s inspiration is commemorated when, at midnight on September 15, Mexicans everywhere–led by the country’s current president–shout " El Grito" honoring the crucial, impulsive action that took place 195 years ago in 1810.
After that, the fireworks start and the real festivities begin. It is a raucous, joyous, colorful time to be in Mexico. On every corner, Mexican flags are being sold. In restaurants and local homes, special feasts are prepared, including my favorite, chiles en nogada–the patriotic dish of stuffed poblano chilies that displays the red, white, and green of the flag.
If we are slow to respond to your e-mails this weekend, it’s because we are joining in the party. In the Jardin here in San Miguel, throngs of revelers will sing and dance, and children, up far past their bedtime, will gaze in awe at the fireworks exploding proudly…and loudly… overhead. Viva Mexico!
Suzan Haskins
For International Living in Mexico
