Viva México!

Nataly's costume for Independence day

Nataly's classmates dress up for the celebration

We celebrated Mexican Independence weekend Sept 16-17 with the throngs of celebrants that descend on San Miguel, aka the cradle of Independence (la cuna de la independenica). It would have been twice the fun with half the crowds, but it was still wonderful to see.

The runners take off with the torch and message

On Sat morning teams of runners in sports attire came to the central square for a ceremony. The ceremony was a short speech commemorating the historic message that was sent from Josefa Ortez in Queretero to Allende and Hidalgo in San Miguel. The message revealed that the plot to overthrow Spain had been discovered and that the insurgents needed to act quickly. The speech concluded with the crowd chanting “viva Mexico” after each time the speaker named the heroes of the revolution. Each team of runners got an eternal flame and a rolled scroll. They circled the jardin several times running and then took off to various cities to deliver the historic message that initiated the independence.

The central square was completely stuffed that day with sellers of every possible thing in the colors of the Mexican flag, as well as every junk food and cheap toy known to Mexico. There were musicians, dancers, and groups of riders on horseback. 

The famous El Grito (the cry for independence) is replicated in every city and town in Mexico at 11pm. Apparently the exact wording of Hidalgo speech to the citizens of Dolores isn’t known, but it was short and rabble rousing and contains the famous line “Viva Mexico”.

Mayor (in red) giving the scrolls to the runners

We woke Nataly up and went on down to the square. It was full to bursting. At first we aimed to get up close and then were nearly suffocated by the crowds, so we moved to a less close spot, that contained more air to breathe. Allende’s familial house borders the square and a huge roar went through the crowd when the mayor (a woman) of San Miguel came out (along with the beauty queen and other dignitaries) on Allende’s 2^nd story balcony.  Then along came the runners  (maybe the same one’s from earlier) with their flames and messages. Behind them trotted about 100 horses with men and women in traditional clothes riding on horseback. 

At 11pm the mayor re-enacted the Grito, a short but stirring call to arms that featured many call and response chants of Viva Mexico. It was very stirring. There were lots of kids up on shoulders near us excitedly calling Viva Mexico. After the speech everyone sang the Mexico National anthem.  We’ve been practicing the chorus (every Monday Nataly’s school starts off the week with a ceremony that involves singing this song).

Many more songs were song and then the fireworks began. These were the wildest fireworks ever and went on and off for at least an hour. Unfortunately because of the crowds and the ring of trees circling the square we only had a limited view. Los pyretecnicos had set up these huge scaffold towers. Parts of the towers spin around and shoot off rockets in a blazing circle. When one part finished another part would begin spinning and firing. Since we couldn’t see that well we eventually moved to the back of the square. Here we ended up getting a front row view of the next set of fireworks that were set off from the roof of the building across the way as well as banks of fireworks set off right in front of us, with a small (and insufficient) sized area roped off. Thankfully in the past year Nataly has grown and is now is a big fan of fireworks. This town would be an unending nightmare for anyone afraid of them. Walked home with the crowds after midnight.

The Parade

The next day we went to see the parade. I guess it makes sense, given the occasion, but we were surprised by the solemnity and show of military might of this parade.  First came the marchers from all the schools in the area, wearing their uniforms. 

Apparently only the boys can be the drummers. Next came the fire fighters, all with full sirens blasting. We were all covering our ears in pain. Does everyone in Mexico have hearing loss from all the noises? We seemed to be the only people bothered.  The last chunk of the parade was the military. Lots of tanks and vehicles with women holding the rocket propelled launchers towards the sky, in a rather freudian way. The best thing about the parade was the people watching. Every San Miguelense with any entrepreneurial spirit was out there selling stuff (often out of a ratty cardboard box or cooler. Unfortunately we’re too wary to buy anything off the street these days, but it was tempting.

Have you ever seen a daytime firecracker type thing? Along the parade route they would shoot out these rockets that exploded and sent sparkly paper billowing out in to the sky. Beautiful, but an environmental hazard.

Hidalgo (bald costume) and Allende

The restaurants were packed so we decided this was a good time to try this Chinese restaurant we had seen. Turns out it is a branch of a Pittsburgh restaurant that we’d been to in Shadyside when we lived there. Small world. The food was great, best Asian we’ve tried so far. All in all a very special weekend and thank goodness we got Monday off to catch up on all the missed sleep.