{"id":5371,"date":"2026-09-13T23:54:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T23:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/?p=5371"},"modified":"2026-09-14T00:41:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:41:52","slug":"mexican-independence-day-and-the-history-behind-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/13\/mexican-independence-day-and-the-history-behind-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican Independence Day and the History Behind It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every nation needs its symbols, traditions and celebrations. Such things affirm a nation’s identity and pass its traditions to\u00a0the next generation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why national holidays are important.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexican Independence Day is the most popular Mexican patriotic holiday. It’s not the same as Cinco de Mayo<\/em>, which is actually a minor holiday in Mexico. (See my article on Cinco de Mayo here<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexican Independence Day is Diez y Seis de Septiembre<\/em> (the 16th<\/sup> of\u00a0 September). It celebrates the independence of Mexico, from Spain, in the early 19th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 As Independence Day approaches, one sees more Mexican flags of various sizes, being sold on street corners. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexican Independence Day really begins on the night of September 15th<\/sup>, at the traditional  Grito<\/em> observance. Grito<\/em>  means \u201cshout\u201d or \u201ccry\u201d.  It commemorates the manner  in which Miguel Hidalgo, considered the father of Mexico, publicly initiated what became the Mexican independence movement, in 1810.
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Miguel Hidalgo.
Source: Joaquin Ramirez, INAH<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This was in the town of Dolores, now renamed Dolores Hidalgo, in central Mexico, in the province (now state) of Guanajuato. Hidalgo, a priest, gathered the people in front of the church on the plaza, where he gave a speech, rang the bell, and called the people to action.
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Source: Retablo de la Independencia, Juan O’Gorman<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

(Today, tourists can visit Dolores de Hidalgo, see the same church and tour Hidalgo\u2019s house. (See Camino de Guanajuato<\/a>).

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House of Miguel Hidalgo. Source: Lilia Wall <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Statue of Hidalgo in Dolores de Hidalgo. Source: Raphael Wall <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In commemoration of\u00a0 Hidalgo\u2019s original Grito<\/em> , the\u00a0time-honored tradition is for Mexicans to \u00a0gather in plazas in Mexican cities \u00a0large and small.\u00a0 There are speeches and performances. At 11:00 p.m., the mayor, on the balcony, \u00a0waves a flag and shouts\u00a0 \u00a0Vivas<\/em> in honor of Hidalgo and other Independence figures, and of course \u201cViva Mexico!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Then fireworks are detonated. In Mexico City the Grito<\/em> is held at the Zocalo plaza and the president does the honors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grito, September 15th, 2025 in Mexico City Zocalo<\/a>. Source: Government of Mexico <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the 16th<\/sup>, no school is held and there are parades, including a massive Mexican military parade in Mexico City.
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Military Parade, September 16th, 2025. Source Government of Mexico<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Mexican War of Independence lasted from 1810-1821, consisted of several phases and was led by men of different ideologies. It was also closely related to what was going on in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before independence, Mexico was part of a vast Spanish Empire. In the Western Hemisphere it stretched from California to Tierra del Fuego in the southern extremity of South America.
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Source: wikimedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, back in Europe, in 1808, Spain was conquered by Napoleon.\u00a0 But if Spain was conquered, what then became of Spain\u2019s empire?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Napoleon was famously disinterested in the Western Hemisphere, which is why he sold the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation created a power vacuum in the Spanish Empire, and nature abhors a vacuum.\u00a0 Napoleon indirectly triggered various independence movements throughout the Spanish Empire.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo\u2019s insurgency, which began in 1810, was not officially directed against the deposed Spanish monarchy, but against the Spanish authorities who were then running Mexico.\u00a0 Hidalgo led the fight until he was captured and shot in 1811.
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Execution of Miguel Hidalgo, 1811. Source: Mexican Artist Alfredo Zalce, ca. 1946<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The leader of the next phase of the struggle was Jose Morelos, another priest, who had been a student of Hidalgo.\u00a0 It was during\u00a0the Morelos phase that an independent Mexico became the concrete public goal of the insurgency .
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Jose Morelos.
Source: Unidentified painter, Wikipedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Morelos was captured and executed in 1815.\u00a0 By this time Napoleon had been driven out of Spain and the Spanish tried to retain their empire . But the damage had been done, and the Spaniards \u00a0were soon to lose all their mainland possessions in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Morelos\u2019 death, Mexican guerrillas movements, led by Vicente Guerrero and Guadalupe Victoria and others, continued to resist the Spanish government. But they didn’t amount to much. Guadalupe Victoria’s movement fizzled out and Vicente Guerrero eventually led the only insurgent force in the field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Guadalupe Victoria, Vicente Guerrero. Source: INEHRM<\/a>
(INEHRM = Instituto Nacional de Estudios Hist\u00f3ricos de las Revoluciones de M\u00e9xico<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What really brought about Mexican independence was that the Mexican royalists themselves switched sides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1820, a new government took power in Spain. \u00a0Suddenly, the Mexican royalists, who were loyal to Spain and had been fighting the insurgents, decided they would rather rule an independent Mexico. So royalist General Agustin de Iturbide (who had been fighting the insurgents all these years) went to meet with guerilla leader Vicente Guerrero. They embraced at Acatempan, in the current state of Guerrero (named for Vicente Guerrero) and made a pact. They were now on the same side, both pro-independence.
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Embrace of Acatempan.
Source: time.graphics<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In August of 1821, Juan O’Donoj\u00fa, the Spanish viceroy in Mexico, recognized the independence of Mexico and signed\u00a0the Treaty of Cordoba with Iturbide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 27th<\/sup>, the combined army of Iturbide and Guerrero, the Army of the Three Guarantees, entered Mexico City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Army of the Three Guarantees enters Mexico City. September 27th, 1821
Source: Ramon Sagredo<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the 28th<\/sup> of September, an independent Mexico was officially declared. Here is the Mexican Declaration of Independence, ratified and signed on that day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mexican Declaration of Independence, 1821
Source: Archivo General de la Naci\u00f3n, photographed by Hpav<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That’s how Mexico became independent in 1821. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To complete this article, here is a meme of a Chihuahua wishing you a happy Mexican Independence Day: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source: Office Holidays<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every nation needs its symbols, traditions and celebrations. Such things affirm a nation’s identity and pass its traditions to\u00a0the next generation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why national holidays are important.\u00a0\u00a0 Mexican Independence Day is the most popular Mexican patriotic holiday. It’s not the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,102],"tags":[1116,1108,1109,1105,1112,1113,82,255,1106,1111,1110,213,5,1115,295,1114,1107,47],"class_list":["post-5371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-history","tag-acatempan","tag-agustin-de-iturbide","tag-army-of-the-three-guarantees","tag-dolores-hidalgo","tag-embrace-of-acatempan","tag-guadalupe-victoria","tag-guanajuato-state","tag-guerrero-state","tag-jose-morelos","tag-juan-odonoju","tag-mexican-declaration-of-independence","tag-mexican-independence-day","tag-mexico-city","tag-napoleon-bonaparte","tag-spain","tag-spanish-empire","tag-vicente-guerrero","tag-zocalo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5371"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5430,"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5371\/revisions\/5430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mexiconewsreport.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}