Flags everywhere, seasonal menus, louder music
and by the night of the 15th, entire plazas waiting
for the same moment. Here’s the story behind
the shout, and why Mérida is a particularly good
place to feel it.
If you visit Mexico in September, you will notice something almost
immediately. Flags everywhere. Streets in green, white and red. Music louder.
And by the night of September 15, entire plazas are waiting for the same
moment.
Then comes the shout:
September 16 is Mexico’s Independence Day — but it’s about more than a date in a
history book. It’s a moment when history, food, music and everyday life all come
together. Experience it in Mérida, and you get a particularly colorful side of Mexico.
01 A plan that did not stay secret
The year was 1810. Mexico was still part of New Spain, and a group of people was
secretly organizing a movement against Spanish rule. Miguel Hidalgo, a priest from the
town of Dolores, was part of it.
Then the authorities found out. Waiting was no longer an option. In the early hours of
September 16, Hidalgo rang the church bell and called people to join the uprising — a
moment known as El Grito de Dolores, the start of Mexico’s struggle for independence.
