Mexico's Big 2010 Celebration
2010 is the year that Mexico has been waiting for. Presidente Felipe Calderon has proclaimed the entire year as the "Año de la Patria" or the "Year of the Nation". It is the 200th anniversary of its Independence from Spain, celebrated on September 15, and the 100th anniversary of the Revolution, celebrated on November 20. During a recent speech at the inauguration of the Casa de Allende Historic Museum in Mexico City he called upon Mexico to use the upcoming anniversaries to reflect on where the country has been and to think about what kind of Mexico descendents will inherit in the future. A large digital clock in the Zocalo is counting down to September 15, 2010 and the 20 of November, 2010. Similar countdown clocks are located in all of the capital cities in Mexico's 31 states. The government got a head start on the celebrations by issuing commemorative banknotes which are now in circulation. The 200 peso bills celebrate the anniversary of the Independence and the 100 pesos bills celebrate the anniversary of the Revolution. In addition, a number of different 5 peso coins have been introduced bearing the images of historical figures of these two eras.
Setting the Stage for Independence
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest in the village of Dolores, who was beloved and respected by Mexicans, was a well-educated courageous humanitarian. He was very sympathetic to the Indians, which was unusual amongst Mexican clergymen. Against Spanish law, Hidalgo taught Indians to plant olives, mulberries and grapevines and to manufacture pottery and leather. His actions irritated the Spanish viceroy who,
as a punitive measure, cut down Hidalgo's trees and vines. But, Hidalgo continued this "radical" behavior. Shortly before dawn on September 16, 1810, Hidalgo made a historic decision that revolutionized the course of Mexico's history. He rang the church bell as he customarily did to call the members of his congregation to mass. When the congregation was assembled, Hidalgo raised his arms and cried, "Mexicanos, Viva Mexico!", known as "El Grito de Dolores". His declaration was spontaneous and passionate. He called for the members of his congregation, to retaliate against the hated Spaniards, oppressors of Mexicans for generations. He urged his congregation to recover the land that was stolen from their forefathers by Spain.
When Hidalgo called the Indians to action, he tapped into powerful forces that had been simmering for over three hundred years. With clubs, slings, axes, knives, machetes and intense hatred, the Indians took on the challenge of the Spanish artillery as they marched from Dolores to Mexico City. On the way, they acquired a picture of the dark-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe who was indigenous to Mexico. It became the banner of the revolutionary forces as Hidalgo led the path toward Mexico City and the expulsion of the Spaniards.
Hidalgo later regretted the bloodbath he had incited with his fateful "El Grito de Dolores". Before the revolutionary troops descended upon Mexico City, Hidalgo retreated with a few associates to Dolores, where he would be executed by Spaniards only a year later. Despite his ambiguity toward the violent class struggle, Hidalgo is still revered as the father of Mexican Independence.
Eleven years of war, decades of despotic Mexican rulers and political unrest preceded Hidalgo's "Cry of Dolores". Yet throughout the years of turmoil, El Grito de Dolores has persevered. Every year at midnight on September 15, Mexicans led by the president of Mexico, shout "Mexicanos, viva Mexico" three times to the sound of a brass bell, honoring the impulsive and crucial and action that was the catalyst for the country's bloody struggle for independence from Spain.
