Many people already know that Mexico's Independence Day is September 16th and not May 5th, but, have you ever heard the phrase: "Let's give a shout"?
Where does this phrase come from and what does it refer to? El grito is the name given to the speech given by Dolores Hidalgo, which marked the beginning of the war of Independence, and was expressed in full voice to the people of Mexico, and which ends with the phrase ¡Viva Mexico! but the reality is that this speech is the one we know today, but the original speech was very different, but over the years more and more phrases were added until it became the speech it is today. Although there are several versions of the original speech.
Let's know a little more about the history of this important event.
During the first half of the year 1810, the patriotic group formed mostly by Creoles, that is, Spaniards born in Mexico, held a series of clandestine pro-independence meetings called later, The Conspiracy of Querétaro.
On the night of September 15, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo sends Mauricio Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo, in front of a group of armed men, to free the people who were imprisoned for being in favor of the independence movements.
In the early morning of September 16, 1810 Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, rings the bells of the church gathering all the independence fighters, and pronounces his famous Grito de Dolores, a speech that motivated to rebel against the current Spanish government.
Miguel Hidalgo achieves within the next year to decree the abolition of slavery, and repeal the mandatory taxes imposed on the Indians, dying shot in Chihuahua on July 30, 1811.
The Independence of Mexico is only achieved after a decade of wars, on September 27, 1821.
But, who was Miguel Hidalgo? Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was a Mexican insurgent and priest. He was born on May 8, 1753 in the hacienda of San Diego de Corralejo, Pénjamo, Guanajuato. He studied at the Colegio de San Nicolás, Valladolid (now Morelia), where he became rector.
In 1778, he was ordained a priest, and in 1803 he took charge of the parish of Dolores, Guanajuato. He was concerned with improving the conditions of his parishioners, almost all of whom were indigenous, teaching them to cultivate vineyards, raise bees and manage small earthenware and brick industries.
In 1809, he joined a secret society formed in Valladolid, whose purpose was to gather a congress to govern New Spain in the name of King Ferdinand VII, a prisoner of Napoleon and, if necessary, to obtain the country's independence. Once the conspirators were discovered, the insurrection moved to Querétaro where he met with Ignacio Allende. On September 16, 1810, carrying the Virgin of Guadalupe as his banner, he launched the so-called cry of Dolores, which started the independence movement and, accompanied by Allende, he managed to gather an army of more than forty thousand people. They took Guanajuato and Guadalajara, however, they decided not to occupy Mexico City.
On January 11, 1811, Hidalgo was defeated near Guadalajara by the royalist forces. He escaped to the north, but was captured and condemned to death. His head, along with that of Allende and other insurgents, was exhibited as an example in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas in Guanajuato.
After the establishment of the Mexican Republic in 1824, he was recognized as the first insurgent and Father of the Nation. In his honor, a state of the Republic and the city of Dolores are named after him. Independence Day is celebrated in Mexico on September 16, the day he proclaimed his rebellion.
So, what is the original speech? There are several versions of this, but it was definitely different from the one we know today, as several phrases have been added over time. One of the versions is the following: Miguel Hidalgo stood in front of the parish, with the people gathered in the atrium, and told them: "Gentlemen, we are lost; the French have already conquered Spain and they are coming to conquer us. The oppression is over, the tributes are over, the gabelas are over and I am going to pay half a peso to those who accompany me on foot and one peso a day to those who accompany me on horseback." "Long live the America and death to the government!"
And, what is the speech we know today? According to the protocol El Grito de Independencia is carried out as follows:
"Mexicans!
Long live the heroes who gave us our homeland!
Long live Hidalgo!
Long live Morelos!
Long live Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez!
Long live Allende!
Long live Aldama!
Viva National Independence!
Long live Mexico, long live Mexico, long live Mexico!"
So, when exactly is the Independence Day celebration?
On the evening of September 15, it is the Commemoration of the Cry of Sorrows.
September 16th is the Anniversary of the beginning of Mexico's Independence.
Nowadays, Mexico follows the tradition of 'el grito,' one day before the Mexican Independence Day, that is, on September 15th around 11:00 pm, at this time, the President of the Republic of Mexico rings the bells of the National Palace in Mexico City, and, in a patriotic speech, in which he names the fallen heroes of the War of Independence, opens the festivities by shouting 3 times: Long live Mexico.
Comments