El Grito: Tonight's the Big Night
Tonight is the night that el Grito of Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costillas (the George Washington of Mexico, one could argue) is celebrated
(although the man actually made his famous "yell" to rouse his congragation on the morning of September 16th, 1810). Popular mythology in Mexico says
that Mr. Hidalgo wanted freedom and independence from Spain, with the implication that he wanted a free nation for all of its inhabitants.
But according to non-Mexican historians, this is a bit of a fabrication. Lesley Byrd Simpson (Many Mexicos) and Henry Bamford Parkes (A History of
Mexico) say that what Hidalgo and his fellow conspirators really had in mind was an Independent Mexico where they supplanted the ruling elite in a
nation that still fell under the Spanish Empire (something like Canada, Australia, etc's relationship with England).
You see, Hidalgo and his co-conspirators were criollos, as the sons and daughters of Spaniards born in Mexico were known. Real
Spaniards--those born in Spain, were known as gachupines. The problem Hidalgo and company had was that Mexico was (and still is in many
respects) an extremely hierarchical society, with the gachupines filling all of the top political, military and economic posts, and criollos playing
second fiddle (although they were privileged over the mestizos (people of European and indigenous blood), indigenous people and mulatos
(Mexicans with African blood).
The criollos were tired of being second-class citizens and so wanted to start a revolt that would result in getting rid of the gachupines. They had
originally planned to announce for Independence on Dec. 8th, 1810 at the Fiesta of San Juan de los Lagos. They hoped to win enough criollo army
officers to their cause by then so that they might have a non-violent revolution. A revolution were the gachupines recognized that they were
overmatched and decided it was in their best interests to leave.
When their plot was discovered, authorities began arresting the conspirators. Hidalgo, who had been actively involved in the not-so-secret plotting,
was warned of his impending arrest and so, on the morning of September 16th, began calling out his congregation of mestizo and indigenous people to
resist. Given the centuries of resentment many of these people felt towards the gachupines, it didn't take much to raise an army.
The "Grito" became a national institution in 1910, when Porfirio Diaz (the dictator of Mexico at the time), began the reinactment from the Palacio
Nacional. Although Hidalgo's Grito took place on the morning of Sep. 16th, because the dictator's birthday was on Sep. 15th, he chose to celebrate the
beginning of Mexican independence one day early (actually, about 12 hours early).
If you live in La Paz and choose to participate in this most Mexican of festivities, you should be in front of the Palacio de Gobierno (Isabel la
Catolica in front of Chedraui's) at around 9:30 this evening. The Grito goes down around 10 and is followed by a fireworks display. If you do go and
don't normally wear glasses, I'd suggest you take safety goggles with you so you can actually look up through all of the sparks and ashes that rain
down on the gathered crowd. And be sure not to apply or wear anything flamable, just to be safe.
There will be plenty of eating stalls to buy antojitos Mexicanos, so come hungry.
[Edited on 9-15-2012 by Bajatripper]
[Edited on 9-17-2012 by Bajatripper]
There most certainly is but one side to every story: the TRUTH. Variations of it are nothing but lies.
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