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(Expansion) - The basic story is well known. The war with which Mexico gained its independence from the Spanish Empire began on September 16, 1810 and ended on September 27, 1821.
Broadly speaking, the basic education textbooks teach that the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gives the so-called Grito de Dolores, and it is 11 years after the Trigarante Army, headed by Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero, enters the City of Mexico.
But what happened in this period? What is the detail of these historical events and their celebration?
Here are 13 things you might not know about the movement with which Mexico managed to be an independent nation, including why this event is celebrated every September 15, and not on the 16th, when the armed movement really began.
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1. Celebrate 15 or 16?
Traditionally, the celebration of this national holiday begins on September 15, when - around 23:00 - the president of the Republic gives the Scream of Independence from the National Palace and rings the bell of Dolores, the same one that rang during the harangue that priest Hidalgo delivered ... although this happened around two in the morning of September 16, 1810.
There is a belief that the beginning of the celebration is the work of Porfirio Díaz, who would have moved the Scream on the night of the 15th to make it coincide with his birthday. The reality is that since the 1840s, when the general was barely 10 years old, the civic party was already starting on the 15th with a serenade, music bands, fireworks and artillery fire.
2. What did Miguel Hidalgo shout?
The testimonies agree that the priest Hidalgo pronounced "alive" the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Catholic religion and King Ferdinand VII, as well as some "die" to the "bad government", during the speech with which he harangued the population To get up in arms.
However, these records record several versions so there is no "official shout."
3 ... but did not ring the bell of Dolores
The character who rang the bell of Dolores was José Galván, the bell of the parish, and not Miguel Hidalgo, as some believe.
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4. Was there 'El Pípila'?
There is no evidence on the existence of Juan José de los Reyes Martínez Amaro, El Pípila, a worker from the Mellado mine, Guanajuato, who is credited with helping to take the Alhóndiga de Granaditas: protected with a slab behind him , set fire to the door.
The legend of El Pípila "represents those anonymous men sacrificed in Independence."
5. The day that Hidalgo stopped Independence
On October 30, 1810, the insurgents defeated the royalist troops in the Battle of the Mount of Crosses - currently the National Insurgent Park, better known as La Marquesa.
This victory opened the way to Mexico City, putting the movement one step away from victory; However, at the last moment, Hidalgo refused to enter the capital, stopping what the final assault and the end of the War of Independence could mean, “perhaps due to the number of casualties and defections, due to exhaustion and lack of weapons. or for fear of violence and looting. ”
6. Allende vs Hidalgo
The refusal after the Battle of the Mount of Crosses followed the total disagreement between Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende, which, coupled with previous differences, bordered on hatred.
"All these reasons led Allende to plan Hidalgo's poisoning, and although he distributed three doses of poison, he was never able to carry out his plan because Hidalgo was well protected."
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7. The last words of Hidalgo
“Don't pity me, I know it's my last day, my last meal and that's why I have to enjoy it; tomorrow I will not be here; I think that is the best, I am old and soon my aches are going to begin to manifest, I prefer to die so in a hospital bed ”, were some of the last words of the priest Hidalgo, expressed on July 29, 1811, hours before being shot in Chihuahua by the Realist Army, according to a manuscript cited by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
8. And Morelos?
"Lord, if I have done well, you know it and without evil, I embrace your infinite mercy," Morelos would have pronounced - priest, like Hidalgo - on December 22, 1815, crucifix in hand, before being shot in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, after it was captured by Spanish troops, according to INAH.
9. Heroes die, tradition is born
Two years after the start of the struggle for independence, on September 16, 1812, General Ignacio López Rayón, secretary of the priest Hidalgo, celebrated the anniversary of the Grito de Dolores in Huichapan, Hidalgo.
In 1813, José María Morelos y Pavón raised in his "Feelings of the Nation" - base text of the Constitution of 1814 - solemnize on September 16 "as the anniversary day when the voice of Independence was raised"; the final text to date declared "a national holiday".
And it was Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico who in 1864 used speech and harangues for the first time to remember the beginning of the patriotic movement, from the town of Dolores.
Porfirio Díaz moved the celebration of the Grito al Zócalo, with everything and the original Dolores bell that was taken to the National Palace in 1896.
Francisco I. Madero, the first elected president of the Revolution, continued the celebration of September 15.
A vendor offers Mexican flags to people trained to vote in Tijuana. (Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images)
10. “Technical failures” in the Centenary
During the celebration of the Centenary of Mexican Independence, opponents of Porfirio Díaz put a rag inside - the clapper - of the Bell of Dolores.
After having shouted: “Long live Freedom! Live the independence! Long live the heroes of the Fatherland! Long live the Republic! Long live the Mexican people! ”, President Porfirio Díaz tried to ring the bell but it did not produce any sound.
Revolutionary leader Francisco I. Madero attributed sabotage to supporters of his cause.
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11. The other screams
In 1968, the year of the student movement repressed by the government of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Heberto Castillo, leader of the left, harangued young people in Ciudad Universitaria.
Another opposition leader of the left, Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been leading his own cry for alternative independence since 2007.
12. Bicentennial of Independence?
In 2010, the bicentenary of the beginning of the movement was celebrated. The bicentennial of Independence, as such, could be celebrated in 2021, because that year 200 years will be celebrated since the Trigarant Army entered Mexico City and the signing of the Independence Act.
Mexico was recognized by Spain as an independent nation until 1836 through the Santa María-Calatrava Treaty.
13. Servant, or deer?
Along with the remains of Morelos, known as “Servant of the Nation”, those of other heroes of the nation were exhibited during a parade held in 2010, the bicentennial year of the beginning of the historical deed, but two years later studies were made public INAH that indicate that in the urn taken from the Column of Independence there were remains of children, women ... and deer or deer.
With information from the Magazine of the University of Mexico and the INAH
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