S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show Reflections on Mexican Independence Day and what it means in 2025. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Today marks Mexican Independence Day. On this day in 1810 , Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo called for Mexicans to rise up against Spanish rule. Today , the holiday is celebrated by Mexicans around the world. Joining me to discuss the history and significance of Mexican Independence Day is Alberto Diaz Ramirez. He's a professor of history at the Autonomous University of Baja California. Professor , welcome to midday edition. Hi.
S2: Hi. Welcome. Thank you for having me. So pleasure. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. So glad you're here. So tell me. This holiday celebrates that battle cry from Father Hidalgo , known as the cry of independence or El Grito.
S2: Because in that time , Mexico was New Spain. It was belonging to Spain. So the the cry of independence or Grito Dolores more referred to try to start a movement to gain the independence , and the words that he pronounced was lone light to New Spain , low light to Spain , in low light to Fernando Settimo that was the king. One of the main aspects about the this cry of Dolores was because in that time in France , Napoleon invaded Spain and overthrew the King Fernando Septima , and he put the his brother Joseph Bonaparte saw all the colonies in America were is going to be a part of France. So Hidalgo started moving to now be part of France and have one colony as a new country independent. So the Creole Dolores , they started with this idea , but also in , in , in that in that time in New Spain , there were a lot of inequalities , high taxation and no rights. For example , the Spaniard , uh , born in in New Spain , they couldn't have opportunities or jobs. Even the mestizos and the , the older people , only the Spaniards , they have the , the positions to end the job. So one of the main aspects to to try to find a new opportunities , uh , fight for , for rights. And one of the main aspects of the Creole Hidalgo was that to to try to encourage people to start this uprising against the the this pain.
S1: And let me let me ask you about this , because there's so much that transpired. And like in many cases , you know , the actual independence comes a bit later. So it wasn't until 1821 that Mexican independence was actually granted.
S2: We have 11 years of battle. We started in 1810 with Hidalgo , Miguel Hidalgo. After that , he died in 11 , in 1911. And we gained our independence in 1821. When I started to read , he signed the Cordova Treaty. And when he signed that with the last viceroy , Juan , who we we achieved our independence. And the day was , uh , September 27th , when we we gained finally our independence with the first movement of the independence was and September 7th , 1716. Sorry. And 1820 , 18 , ten 1810. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: So they only changed some things. For example , when they reenact the Grito Dolores , they use the names. They they pronounce the names of all the insurgents. They fought against the Spanish rule. For example , Miguel Hidalgo , Jose Maria morelos Pabon , Ignacio Pelaez Rayon , and also , uh , Vicente Guerrero and all the , the women. Then they participate also in the independence movement. And , uh , they pronounce words like freedom , justice and democracy , rights. Because one of the main issues about the independence is to try to , uh , to get that that ideal. Because as I said before , when it was New Spain , we couldn't have rights. So one of the main aspects of the cry of the law is , you know , when we celebrate that day , we , the president or the mayor , they , they , they shout for the rights that we have right now. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well , how have celebrations evolved over the last 200 something years. I mean what stayed the same.
S2: Well the same is the , the parade for example. And the first celebration was in 1812. They celebrated two years before , after the the movement of Hidalgo in 1812. Uh , Ignacio Perez Ryan and uh Andres Quintana wrote two mens that were part of the of the movement. They celebrate the first , uh , movement of independence. After that , when we we gained independence in 1825. It was the first , uh , commemoration. The president in that sign of Victoria , he established that day. And he was only , for example , like dancing and people dressed up with folkloric dresses. And they reenact the , the , the cry of Dolores. After that , in 1896 , with , uh , Porfirio Diaz , the president at that time , he established , they changed the date. They started the celebration the fifth in September , now the sixth in September , because the 15th September was his birthday. So he tried to put the day , the 15th September not exist in September. So after the revolutionary movement , we continue to celebrate the Independence Day , the 16th September. So , uh , there is some signs the the political. They use the day for different purposes. The first one was for military purposes. After that , as a celebration , because we were a republic , and with Porfirio Diaz he changed the date. But we celebrate in the same way and all the traditions that we can see in the celebration , like the flags , the food , the dances , the parade and reenact the grito are the same.
S1: Ah , well , listen , last night , President Claudia Sheinbaum led the Independence Day ceremony in Mexico City , making history as the first woman to do it in 215 years. Take a listen.
S3: We are.
S4: Halo magico. Mexico. Reborn. Mexico. Wow.
S1: Wow. It sends goosebumps up your spine to hear all of that excitement. Talk to me about the significance of that moment.
S2: Well , it is very important because this is the first year of her in the presidency. And also for the very first time , we we have , uh , a woman in holding that position as a president. So it's a good sign for us. And also , uh , yesterday when she she gave the the speech , the grito of Dolores , he ran like this. He remembered all the women , the women that they they fought in the independence movement , for example , in avocado , she mentioned she mentioned avocado. She mentioned also , uh , another girl like Josefa Dominguez and other women that he he spent. Well , she , she , she gave money for the movement. Maria Gutierrez , Theodora uh , Bocanegra. Ignacio Rodriguez , she remember all the women. They participate in the independence movement. So that's a good sign , because when we think in the independence of Mexico , we only think in one part , man. But we forgot that also. Woman. They fought for the same mission , the same project to have a country. And it's a good sign to hear that because this president came down , she tried to to to remember that women are important in our country. And that is a good sign , I think , as a historian , as a citizen , and also as a person , to hear that the president Chamberlain , he remembered the importance of women in in the whole project of Mexico and also in the independence movement.
S1: Yeah , that is great. You know , this year , Mexico , many celebrations have been downsized due to concerns about immigration enforcement. The Mexican consulate in San Diego did not host their large celebration this year , although they did hold a number of local events.
S2: And to be part of Mexico is not only an identity. It's also the symbols that we have , like the flag or the celebration in family , because one of the main values , or the Mexicans are the family. So it's kind of sad to hear that they , they , they couldn't have this opportunity to celebrate this important day because to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day is not just a day is or history. And it's kind of difficult to , to to realize how this how the impact of this in the , in the Mexican community because it hurts the community and the politics and the and the immigration enforcement doing by the federal government to the Mexican community divide families and danger families as well. So I think it will be kind of difficult for them. But my message to my Mexican community , the Mexican-American community , is to be a resilient resilient to this. This the situation to be together , to embrace our heritage or history or language also or traditions or culture in our identity. Because I know that our flag is not just a symbol for for our country or our nation , it also is part of us. So I think that is important. I understand the difficulty is that it happened right now in the United States. But my message for the community in the South and in Southern California , also in San Diego , even in Tijuana , is to feel proud of our roots , our culture and identity. No matter what. Or we are Mexicans , even if they are in the United States , we are in Mexico. We share the same feeling. And we are a society , a community that we we feel proud of our roots. So my messages to them is to be together , try to enjoy the celebration in at home , for example , and be in contact with these relatives because one main aspect or for the Mexicans are the family. So I think we can continue to protect our family in these difficult days.
S1: All right. I've been speaking with Professor Alberto Diaz Ramirez , a historian at the Autonomous University of Baja California. Alberto , thank you so much , and happy Mexican Independence Day.
S2: Thank you so much.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
