September 16 may just be another day in the United States, but across the border, it signifies one of the most important days in history.
It’s the anniversary of Mexico’s declaration of independence from Spain.
The day commemorates when Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 made the cry for independence hours after midnight by giving a riveting speech in the town of Dolores and ringing the town’s church bells.
The moment, which became known as the “Grito de Dolores, was the start of the 11-year Mexican War of Independence that resulted in Mexico gaining freedom from Spain after being under colonial rule for over 300 years.
While those unfamiliar with the holiday may see comparisons to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, they do share the ideas of breaking away from European rule, but that’s as close as they get.
“Technically, they gained their freedom. But the way that freedom was gained was not true freedom,” Alexandro Gradilla, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at California State University, Fullerton, told USA TODAY. “It’s a mix of Fourth of July, Juneteenth, and sadly I would say April Fool’s, because people didn’t get the freedom they thought they were going to get.”
To Gradilla and other historians, being under Spanish rule was vastly different than Americans under British rule. The Spaniards had greater power over the Indigenous people of Mexico, who were often seen as second-class citizens.
