Independencia (Independence Day)
Date : 15, 16 September
The Independence Day celebrations in Mexico City are a sight to behold! And for the extensive traveler, these celebrations are unlike any other Independence Day celebrations around the world. The history of Mexico is filled with heroes real and legendary, and this celebration pays homage to the heroes that helped Mexico gain independence from the Spanish colonial administration.
The festivities start from the evening of the 15th, including flag-waving, chanting patriotic songs, costume dress up, and folk dances. As it gets late, people start flocking to the main public square at Zocalo, where at 11 pm the President performs a ceremonial re-enactment of the 1910 call to rebel against the Spanish, through a symbolic tolling of the large church bell, in response to which the audience goes wild with patriotic fervor. Music and anthems break out subsequently, drowned only by the deafening, and quite breathtaking, display of fireworks.
The celebrations on the next day, the 16th, which is also given off as a national holiday, are of a much formal and sober nature. They consist of military parades through the city and patriotic speeches by eminent politicians and journalists at various locations.
