5 Facts About Mexico’s Independence Day (Not the “Cinco de Mayo”)

It is the entire Mexican people who celebrate the evening of September 15 every year. It’s their Saint-Jean-Baptiste! They celebrate the day before and it is a public holiday the next day.

“Cinco de Mayo” does not celebrate Mexico’s independence.

If you thought it was “Cinco de Mayo“, the national holiday of Mexicans, we are busting the myth today. It is actually a celebration of the victory at the Battle of Puebla that took place in 1862. “Cinco de Mayo” is celebrated in Puebla, but not elsewhere in Mexico.

Spain initially conquered Mexico in 1500.

In the 16th century, Spain controlled Latin America from what was “New Spain”. It was a Spanish colony.

September 16, 1810, marked the beginning of Mexico’s independence from Spain.

It was a priest named Miguel Hidalgo who started the revolt in secret.

Father Hidalgo had about 90,000 poor farmers and Mexican civilians who believed in him.

The eve of Mexico’s Independence Day is called “El Grito de Delores” (the day of Dolores’ scream).

During the night, from 15 to 16 September. He raised the cry of independence and rang the bells to begin the battle that lasted 11 years.

And although independence was made official in 1821, it was the beginning of the battle for independence that Mexicans preferred to celebrate. Nothing to do with “Cinco de Mayo” once again.

The base of the Angel of Independence is a mausoleum (a funerary monument).

You may know the monument of the Angel of Independence (El Ángel de la Independencia) which is located in Mexico City. Well, it’s also a place of memory. The angel holds a laurel wreath, a sign of victory, and a broken chain, a sign of the end of Spanish rule over Mexico.

In the heart of the monument, in a crypt, the heroes of Independence such as Andrés Quinta Roo, Guadalupe Victoria and Miguel Hidalgo are laid to rest.

¡Viva México! September 15 and 16 and not the “Cinco de Mayo“