Mexico's cry of independence

Mexico has just celebrated 199 years of independence yesterday with a series of national and local public events to commemorate this important historical event. The Mexico that we know now evolved from one of the oldest civilizations in the world which consisted of ancient tribes such as the Aztecs, the Olmecs and the Mayans to name a few. Its name, Mexico, entails its origin and history from the 14th century, its original name being Mexico-Tenochtitlan, in reference to the name of the Aztec tribe, the Mexica (Mexi is the secret name for deity). Hence, its full name means “the place of the Mexica among the stone-cactuses”, connoting how the place came about from a stone in the middle of a lake. Spanish missionary Bernardino Sahagun who is a mystic, interprets that Mexico is the center of the world, a place where all water currents converge.     

It was an Aztec civilization that the Spaniards conquered. As they proceeded to evangelize the tribes and develop the region, a new Spanish colony gradually emerged. Way back in the 1800s, Mexico became known as La Nueva Espana (New Spain). Then king of Spain King Ferdinand VII set his heart on the country which abounded with mineral resources like gold and silver; hence, the place was dubbed as the most important Spanish colony in the New World. We remember that during this same period Manila was inter-trading with Mexico through the lucrative Galleon Trade (1521 to 1898), with ships that sailed to and from Intramuros and Acapulco. Anyway, the region’s inhabitants were then subdued by the evangelization work of Spanish missionaries as well as the moving in of new Spanish settlers. With this, by the early 19th century, La Nueva Espana expanded to include most of the US states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah and Colorado. Incidentally, few people know that the first settlers of the region that is now Texas were Filipinos and they were brought there mostly by the galleon trade. As part of the Mexican territory then, Texas was called Nuevas Filipinas.              

 Through time, many Spaniards settled in Nueva Espana, intermarried and raised their families. With the development of their new identities, alienation from the mother country grew. Soon after, rebellion spread and this was mainly instigated by the criollos, the people born of Spanish parents in Nueva Espana, some of whom were enormously rich and sought political power commensurate with their wealth and the mestizos, the descendants of mixed marriages between Spaniards and natives. History tells us that unrest was stirred when the Jesuits (many of whom are criollos) were expelled from the Spanish empire in 1767. As church assets were confiscated by the Spanish rulers in 1804, the churches were deep in debts, affecting the criollos. The fire of rebellion ignited when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied Spain in 1808 and colonial rule over Nueva Espana loosened. The criollos and the mestizos were also threatened that Napoleon would destroy almost three centuries of culture and Catholic religion. By 1810, the people were ready to go to war.

 On September 15, 1810, Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the parish priest of Dolores town, launched the rebellion in Queretaro with the objective of making Mexico a sovereign nation. His famous grito (shout) that night from his pulpit was really a declaration of defiance against Bonaparte and loyal Spanish followers in Mexico, and at the same time, a declaration of allegiance to Ferdinand VII. Fr. Hidalgo inspired the followers and the peasants with a fiery cry: “Long live religion! Long live our Lady of Guadalupe! Long live the Americas and death to the corrupt government!” Mexico’s independence would be recognized only after a decade of war by the Spanish Crown on September 27, 1821.     

 El Grito continues to be celebrated today as Mexico’s declaration of independence from Spain. Each year, on the night of September 15, the President of Mexico reenacts the event by ringing the bells of the National Palace in Mexico City. He repeats a cry of patriotism in his own words to an assembled crowd in the central plaza called Zocalo, one of the largest plazas in the world.

Today, Mexico faces a great challenge — we remember that in April this year, the swine flu pandemic started to spread there. It is in continued conflict with the rest of the United States for its illegal immigrants crossing the border and threatening the meager resources of the American citizens, making these the basis for new and rigid immigration policies. Like the rest of America, it is affected by the economic recession. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, its President, leads the nation to an unprecedented transformation which we hope will be realized towards it bicentenary in 2010.