Every year here in Mexico we celebrate the Mexican Independence on September 16^th.
In all the Mexican states the people go to the center of the city and in front of the cathedral, in the city hall, the governor gives “el grito de independencia”. (Cry of independence)
“Dar el grito” is when the president in the capital and the governors in the states cry: VIVA MEXICO! And say the names of the most important people who participated in the independence movement, after that he waves the flag and rings the bell, the president rings a bell called “La campana de Dolores” which is the same one that Miguel Hidalgo rang 198 years ago.
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the person who started this movement with a little group of people like Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez and her husband.
In that time all the people in Mexico excepting the Spanish and the sons of Spanish that were born in Mexico, called “Creoles” (Miguel Hidalgo was a Creole) were so poor and without rights.
The independence war started and it lasted 11 years, from 1810 to 1821.
We don’t celebrate the end of the independence because it can’t be called “independence”, for some reasons it became Iturbide’s empire. So we celebrate just the beginning of it.
On September 16^th you can see a lot of typical food stands like “Chalupas”, “Mole”, etc. on the streets. The Chalupas are little tortillas prepared with lard, sauce, cheese, onion and meat. The chalupas are a typical dish from our region, Puebla.