Mexico celebrates independence from Spain

Mexico celebrates the anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain and celebrates pre-Hispanic culture.

The Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has celebrated the cry for independence. This is the second year in a row that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic the celebrations have been held without citizens attending.

The president also led a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Sadly, Mexico has lost almost 270,000 people to the pandemic and has seen over three and half million people infected.

Cadets from the military college handed over the Mexican flag as Lopez Obrador took to the central balcony at the National Palace. He then then began the celebrations of the 211th anniversary of the beginning of Mexico’s Independence.

According to the National Geographic: “On September 16, Mexicans around the globe will celebrate the anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain. The day is marked by a national holiday in Mexico, a reenactment of a historic moment from the revolution’s leader, and an array of performances from fireworks to dance routines.”

Lopez Obrador said: “Long live the cultures of pre-Hispanic Mexico”.

As reported by 20 minutes, “The event, broadcast on television, radio and internet, was part of the marathon of commemorations designed this year by the Lopez Obrador government to mark the 500th anniversary of the conquest by Hernan Cortes, the 200th anniversary of the consummation of Independence and the 700th anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan.”

It is believed that the date was first commemorated in 1812 by Ignacio Lopez Rayon in Huichapan, Hidalgo. However according to historian Ana Maria Carabe Lopez, speaking to Efe: “it was in 1825 that the first official celebration of the Cry of Independence took place in Mexico, with Guadalupe Victoria as president,

“The celebration was a theatrical performance attended by the president and his entourage, and during the act some speeches were made and poems alluding to independence were recited.”

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