Grito de Dolores

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Statue of Miguel Hidalgo in front of church, Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato

The Grito de Dolores ("Proclamation of Dolores") was the call for insurrection against the authorities of Mexico given by Miguel Hidalgo on September 16, 1810, in the town of Dolores, near Guanajuato. The government of the Empire, shattered by Napoleon's invasion of Spain, was succeeded by "juntas" in both Spain and the Americas in order to replace the authority of the king, Fernando VII, held hostage by Napoleon in Bayonne, France.

Father Hidalgo ordered the church bell to be rung to gather his congregation, then called for insurrection and ended by supposedly calling out, ¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! ¡Viva Fernando VII! ¡Abajo el mal gobierno! (Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Long live Fernando VII! Down with the bad government!). Shortly after this speech, Hidalgo gathered an army and tried to take over the government but he was eventually defeated. As his struggle against the established authorities unfolded, he started to demand the full independence of the Spanish American colonies, and the exile or arrest of all Spaniards in Mexico. There are several different accounts of what was actually said. The event has since assumed national mythopoeic status, as it is extremely doubtful that Hidalgo repudiated the King and raised a cry as he is said to have done.^[1]^[2]

Mexico's independence was recognized by the Spanish viceroy on September 27, 1821 after a decade-long War of Independence. Since the late 19th century, a re-enactment has become traditional: the President of Mexico rings Hidalgo's bell (now at the National Palace on the Zócalo in Mexico City) and repeats Hidalgo's words (or a variant thereof) every year at 11:00 P.M. on the night of September 15. On the following day, September 16, a military parade starts in the Zócalo and ends at the Paseo de la Reforma.

(Another holiday, Cinco de Mayo, or May 5, is commonly confused with Mexican Independence Day; in fact, this day commemorates the Battle of Puebla between Mexican and French forces in 1862.)

[edit] References

^ Hamill, Hugh M. (1966). The Hidalgo Revolt: Prelude to Mexican Independence. University of Florida Press. ISBN 0-8130-2528-1.
^ Knight, Alan (2002). Mexico: The Colonial Era. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-5218-9196-5.