Mexican Independence Day - September 16, the Grito de Dolores and the 1810 uprising

Mexican Independence Day (Dia de la Independencia) on September 16 marks the 1810 Grito de Dolores, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's call to arms that began the war of independence from Spain and ended eleven years later with the 1821 Treaty of Cordoba. It is Mexico's primary national civic holiday, distinct from Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 1862), which commemorates the Battle of Puebla during the French intervention.

The one-line summary

Mandatory national public holiday on September 16, observed every year. Commemorates the 1810 Grito de Dolores that launched the eleven-year Mexican War of Independence; the 1821 Treaty of Cordoba concluded it. Federal tier. The night of September 15 is anchored by the President's Grito ceremony from the National Palace balcony.

Origin

In the early morning of September 16, 1810, in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato, the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bell of his parish church and called on his congregation to take up arms against the Spanish colonial government. The event, the Grito de Dolores, opened the first phase of the Mexican War of Independence, an eleven-year armed struggle that ended in 1821 with the Treaty of Cordoba and the declaration of Mexican sovereignty.

Hidalgo's cry, known as the Grito, exhorted parishioners to defend their religion against the Spanish-born authorities, to refuse tribute to a government they did not choose, and to take up arms. He had been planning an uprising under a Spanish constitutional framework; when the conspiracy was betrayed, he launched the revolt on his own initiative on September 16. Hidalgo commanded the insurgency until early 1811, when he was captured in northern Mexico and executed by firing squad on July 30, 1811 in Chihuahua.

After Hidalgo's death the war passed to other leaders, including Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, Vicente Guerrero, and Agustin de Iturbide. The conflict turned decisively in 1821, when Iturbide - a former royalist officer - and Guerrero joined forces under the Plan de Iguala and entered Mexico City on September 27, 1821. The Treaty of Cordoba, signed on August 24, 1821, formalised Mexican independence; the formal declaration was issued on September 28, 1821. The first anniversary was celebrated as the national holiday in 1822 and the date (September 16) became the fixed annual observance.

Cinco de Mayo vs Independence Day

Mexican Independence Day is not Cinco de Mayo. May 5 marks the 1862 Battle of Puebla, an isolated victory in a longer French intervention (1861-1867) - the war was won by the Mexican republicans in 1867, not in 1862. September 16 marks the start of the 1810 war of independence from Spain. The two holidays are unrelated events from different centuries. In US popular culture they are frequently confused; Cinco de Mayo is observed in the United States by Mexican- American communities and by commercial marketing campaigns, while Independence Day on September 16 is overwhelmingly a Mexican observance.

When it falls

Always September 16. Mexican Independence Day is a fixed Gregorian date and does not move. The civic celebrations span the night of September 15 (when the President of Mexico performs the Grito from the National Palace in Mexico City) and the day of September 16 (the statutory holiday). When September 16 falls on a weekend the date does not shift; the statutory workday does not move either.

How it is observed

The Grito ceremony on the night of September 15 is the ceremonial centerpiece. The President of Mexico stands on the central balcony of the Palacio Nacional in the Zocalo of Mexico City, rings the same bell that tradition associates with Father Hidalgo, and shouts Viva Mexico! - followed by three vivas for the heroes of the nation, the national heroes, and the Fatherland. The crowd in the Zocalo repeats the cry. The ceremony ends with the national anthem and a massive fireworks display. Governors and mayors perform analogous Gritos in state capitals and city halls across Mexico.

September 16 is the statutory public holiday. The morning features the traditional Desfile Militar, a military parade along the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, with columns from the Mexican Armed Forces. Schools, banks, and most businesses close. Family gatherings, street parties (verbenas), mariachi music, and consumption of patriotic dishes - especially chiles en nogada (roasted poblano peppers stuffed with picadillo, topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds) and pozole (a hominy-and-meat stew) - anchor the day. Streets, buildings, and houses are decorated in the national colours of green, white, and red.

Legal status

September 16 is a mandatory national public holiday in Mexico under Article 74 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (Federal Labour Law). The 1970 labour law classifies it as a national civic holiday, separate from the Cinco de Mayo civic commemoration. Banks, government offices, and most private employers suspend work; employees who do work on the day are entitled to triple pay under the same article. The night of September 15 is not a statutory holiday but anchors the social observance of the day.

Regional variations

Observance is nationwide but the intensity differs. The state of Guanajuato, where the Grito de Dolores took place, makes the Dolores municipality the focal point of official commemorations and uses the night of September 15 for the state Grito. The state of Sonora has historically observed September 15 instead of September 16 because of a regional holiday law dating to the 19th century; Sonoran school calendars and many private employers in the state mark the holiday a day earlier than the rest of the country. Larger cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla) put on the largest civic parades; smaller municipalities and rural towns emphasise church processions and family gatherings around the Grito.

Mexican Independence Day by the numbers

History of the Grito ceremony

The President's Grito ceremony is a 19th-century invention. The actual call to arms in 1810 by Father Hidalgo did not use the formula now performed; the bell of the Dolores church from which the Grito tradition derives is disputed. The first formal reenactment of the Grito in Mexico City was performed by President Manuel Avila Camacho in 1941 on the centennial of the 1841 - not 1810 - traditional ceremony. The balcony of the Palacio Nacional and the bell-ringing ritual took their modern form under President Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940) and were codified by President Manuel Avila Camacho.

The 2012 Grito is the most-cited outlier: the ceremony coincided with protests against the inauguration of President Enrique Pena Nieto and was held in a smaller venue; in subsequent years the federal government returned the Grito to the balcony on a closed Zocalo with restricted public access, in part for security reasons. Public attendance estimates are unofficial because the federal government stopped publishing attendance figures in the 2010s.

The path to independence

Hidalgo's 1810 call was the start, but the war of independence went through several phases. After Hidalgo's capture, leadership passed to Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, the Congress of Chilpancingo, and the Constitution of Apatzingan (1814). After Morelos's execution in 1815, the war entered a guerrilla phase under Vicente Guerrero and Guadalupe Victoria. The decisive shift came in 1821 when Agustin de Iturbide, formerly a royalist general, joined Guerrero under the Plan de Iguala (February 24, 1821) and the Treaty of Cordoba (August 24, 1821). Iturbide and the Army of the Three Guarantees (religion, independence, union) entered Mexico City on September 27, 1821. The September 16 date commemorates the start of the insurgency, not the end of the war.

Observing in the United States

Mexican Independence Day is observed on or near September 16 across Mexican-American communities in the United States, especially in California, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, and New Mexico. Civic festivals typically feature mariachi, folklórico dance ensembles, the Grito reenactment, and traditional foods. Chicago's Mexican Independence Day parade in the Pilsen neighbourhood has run annually since the late 1960s. Los Angeles, Houston, and San Antonio host large civic Gritos. Mexican consulates across the US host Grito ceremonies on the night of September 15.

Sources

• Government of Mexico (Gobierno de Mexico), Fiestas Patrias and the Grito de Dolores: gob.mx/fiestaspatrias.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Mexican War of Independence" and "Treaty of Cordoba": britannica.com/event/Mexican-War-of-Independence.
• Secretaria de Educacion Publica (SEP), educational materials on the Grito de Dolores and Mexican independence: gob.mx/sep.
• Encyclopedia of Mexican History, "Grito de Dolores" entry via the Mexican government cultural portal: gob.mx/cultura.
• Library of Congress, "Mexican Independence Day: A Guide to Online Resources": loc.gov/rr/hispanic/guides/mexico.html.

Key facts at a glance

• Date: September 16, fixed Gregorian date
• Category: Federal
• Country: Mexico
• Public holiday: Yes, mandatory national
• Established: First commemorated as a national holiday in 1825 under the First Mexican Republic
• Culminating event: Grito de Dolores (1810), Father Hidalgo's call to arms
• Ceremonial centre: President's Grito from the National Palace balcony on September 15 night
• Related: Cinco de Mayo (May 5) is the 1862 Battle of Puebla and is a separate holiday

Mexican Independence Day FAQs

• When is Mexican Independence Day? September 16 every year. The night of September 15 anchors the Grito ceremony.
• Is it a public holiday? Yes, mandatory national public holiday under Article 74 of the Ley Federal del Trabajo.
• What is the Grito? The reenactment of Father Hidalgo's 1810 call to arms; performed by the President from the National Palace balcony.
• Who was Miguel Hidalgo? The Catholic priest who began the war of independence in 1810; executed in 1811.
• How is it different from Cinco de Mayo? Mexican Independence Day marks the 1810 start of the war with Spain; Cinco de Mayo marks the 1862 Battle of Puebla against France.

The flag and the national anthem

Independence Day is closely linked with the symbols of the Mexican state: the national flag (green, white, and red vertical tricolour, with the coat-of-arms - an eagle on a cactus holding a snake - in the centre), the national anthem (composed in 1854 by Jaime Nuno for the music and Francisco Gonzalez Bocanegra for the lyrics, officially adopted in 1943), and the escarapela (a ribbon rosette in green, white, and red worn on the lapel during the week of September 15-16). Houses, balconies, and government buildings are decorated with the tricolour throughout the patriotic month (Septiembre, Mes de la Patria).