a. July 4
b. Sept. 15
d. Sept. 16
Answer interpretation:
If you said a--July 4, you just might be from a red state;
If you said c--May 5, you just might be a Corona Light-sipping gringo;If you said b--Sept. 15 or d--Sept. 16, you would be correct. Actually, it's both b and d as I'll explain.
Location: the Zocolo--this is the historic center of Mexico City, said to be the largest public square in the world, next to Red Square in Moscow. It's big. Currently, it is configured as an open plaza with a giant flagpole in the middle from which is flown a giant Mexican flag.
The daily raising and lowering of the flag is a ceremony somewhat akin to the changing of the guard in London, complete with a band and marching around the square. Around the Zocolo are located the National Palace on one side, the National Cathedral on another side, two blocks of city government buildings across from the National Cathedral, and another long block of buildings across from the National Palace, in which the ground floor houses some retail outlets and the top floors house hotels with open terrace restaurants. Various events take place in the Zocolo--concerts, including one by Shakira a couple of years ago with close to 210,000 attendees (the record largest gathering); public demonstrations/protests/occupations, such as one by (former) electrical workers that had gone on for more than a year; viewing of Mexico playing in the World Cup last year on giant TV screens; and an ice rink over the Christmas season.
Why two days?Mexico's struggle for independence from Spain is said to have begun with "El Grito" or the cry/yell for independence by Miguel Hidalgo y Castillo on September 16, 1810. The initial rebellion against the Spanish colonial government failed, but this event is still considered the beginning of the war of independence. The celebration of it was moved to September 15 by long-time dictator Profirio Diaz because September 15 was his birthday! (The reign of Profirio Diaz is also the reason for term limits for elected officials--somehow, he was always the only candidate.) Today, El Grito is made by the president late in the evening of Sept. 15. The president comes out of the palace onto a balcony (see below), rings a large bell several times, and issues the cry (here translated courtesy of Wikipedia):
Mexicans!
Long live the heroes that gave us the Fatherland!
Long live Hidalgo!
Long live Morelos!
Long live Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez!
Long live Allende!
Long live Aldama and Matamoros!
Long live National Independence!
Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico! LONG LIVE MEXICO!!!!
The president's rendition is punctuated by the crowd shouting in response "Vive!" (which is what Wiki translated as "long live"), with a raised fist pump. Then the president waves a big Mexican flag back and forth a number of times. This is followed by singing of the national hymn and extensive fireworks.
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| Fireworks, facing the National Cathedral |
On the second day, September 16, the Zocolo is filled with military personnel and equipment for a demonstration of solidarity with the president and a parade from the Zocolo down several city streets to the Angel de la Independencia statue on Paseo de la Reforma. The parade includes flyovers by various current and historical aircraft, tanks, grenade launchers and other large weaponry, and various watercraft carried by motorized vehicles.
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| Tanks lined up on the Zocolo |
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| I think this fires gas-propelled grenades |
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| Check out the unusual camoflage (the walking brush pille) |
Our Experience--we were in danger of being crushed once and trampled another time; clearly, personal space was violated! We also really, really enjoyed it.We had decided that we wanted to go to the Zocolo for the festivities. Doug returned from the US that day, so it was late in the afternoon/early in the evening when we were ready to go. I tried to call a taxi and got no answer, which wasn't a good sign. I called a different company, though, and we did get a car sent. Soon we started to notice streets that had been closed, until finally the street we were on was closed shortly in front of us. The driver had to turn back toward the direction from which we had come and then the drive got even more confusing! And it started to rain. I realized that we hadn't brought umbrellas, which is really dumb in Mexico City because it has probably rained 3/4 of the days that I have been here, in the late afternoon or early evening. The driver had warned us that he probably wasn't going to be able to drive all the way to where we were staying because of street closures around the Zocalo--we understood that, having experienced it last year when we were in Mexico City. About three blocks from the Zocalo, we couldn't go any farther in the car so it was time to walk in the light rain. When we got one block from the Zocolo, we encountered tight security, complete with metal detectors and bag X-ray. The screeners wanted me to open my backpack because they had seen a bottle in it (yes, I was carrying a bottle of wine to the hotel). They were not allowing alcohol into the secured area, but I convinced them we were going to a hotel and promised not to open the wine except at the hotel. Amazingly, they let me through. (As Doug would point out, they were not police or military, but probably volunteers. Later, after we had been to the hotel, police took our bottles of water when we were going through a different security point.)
By this time, the rain had stopped. In the Zocalo, there was a stage set up for live music and giant TV screens on which the musical entertainment was projected so that it could be seen from just about any location in the square.
The buildings surrounding the Zocolo were decorated with lights, some of which formed intricate displays, such as various symbols of Mexico (an eagle perched on large prickly pear cactus, holding a rattlesnake in its beak--the symbol from the flag, left) and its independence (Hidalgo and the Angel of Independence, below).
People were in front of the stage watching the performance and others were gathering facing the palace. We walked around for a while taking pictures and then decided to take up a location in front of the palace since that was where the action was going to occur. Then it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then people who were in front of the palace started running for the adjacent government buildings which have covered porticos. By the time we got to the buildings, the sheltered space was gone and we were almost crushed between people who were already there and MORE people who were trying to get under the cover. We got absolutely drenched, and it was a little chilly. The rain let up and most of the people went back out into the Zocolo. We decided to stay under the cover of the porticos, and we were glad we did because there were intermittent downpours the rest of the evening!
The pop/country music performance yielded to a series of more traditional performances--dances, mariachi music, and finally traditional Mexican songs that many people in the crowd sang along with. (I had to convince Doug not to sing "ay, yay, yay, yay I am the Frito Bandito"--not cool.) There was a period of fireworks, then more singing by choirs in front of the palace.
Finally, the screens began showing a ceremony from inside the palace, in which a color guard presented the flag to the president and then the president and his wife paraded down long hallways to the balcony. As described above, the president rang the bell and orated the grito. It may sound corny, but it was really kind of exhilarating to have this large crowd shout back at the appropriate times. By the end, we were shouting, too, "Vive Mexico!"
The next day we were back for the military exhibition and parade. People were packed in much tighter than my comfort would allow. The parade was pretty interesting, though. I don't think I've ever seen in person many of the weapons. Glad it was a peaceful parade though and not real use of any of them!
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