16 de Septiembre en Veracruz

In the early morning hours of September 16th, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo rang the church bell in his town of Dolores, and gave a speech rallying people to fight for the independence of Mexico from Spain. His speech is now referred to as the "Grito de Dolores," and is re-enacted in every town and city zócalo at 11pm on September 15th, the eve of Independence Day. Apparently the exact words of Hidalgo's original speech have been lost, but the main elements that are repeated are "¡¡Viva México!! !!Viva la independencia!!"



The bell that he rang in Dolores was brought to the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City, and that is where the President of Mexico reenacts el grito every year. It makes sense that the biggest celebration for Mexican Independence Day takes place in the capital city, but it's a big deal in every town and city.

I was in Veracruz for el grito, packed in with thousands of people in the main plaza. A bit like our celebrations for New Year's Eve, they had televised entertainment for a few hours leading up to the main event. The president of the city of Veracruz made his big appearance just before 11pm, and made the big speech. It culminated with him saying "¡Viva México!" 3 times, each time with the crown shouting back "¡¡Viva!!" and then he pulled a festive cord to ring the bell overhead, while people cheered and threw confetti and waved flags of all sizes and little kids made LOTS of noise with crazy noisemakers... Then the official city band played the Mexican national anthem and other patriotic songs, while the crowds attempted to disperse... The entire plaza was a madhouse for about 30 minutes as everyone pushed in different directions to get to their next destination (mine was my hotel room!)