Mexican and Colombian Independence Day
Mexico and Colombia: Independence Day
Two of Latin America’s most widely observed national anniversaries — Mexico’s Sept. 16 and Colombia’s July 20 — recollect different opening chapters of the long independence era that reshaped the Spanish-ruled Americas in the early 19th century. Both dates are marked by public ceremony, music and civic ritual, and both recall political ruptures set in motion as Europe convulsed under the Napoleonic wars.
Mexico: the Grito that became a nation
Mexico’s independence commemoration centers on the “Grito de Dolores” — the call to arms issued in September 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a parish priest in the town of Dolores (now Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato). The date widely observed today is Sept. 16, 1810, and the event is remembered each year with a public re-enactment known as “el grito,” performed by the president in Mexico City and by governors and mayors nationwide.
A commonly cited reconstruction of Hidalgo’s words reads: “¡Viva la independencia! ¡Viva la América! ¡Muera el mal gobierno!” — a phrasing that appears in many modern retellings but stems from later accounts and reconstructions of the original cry.
Historians note that contemporary records of the precise wording are uneven; the ceremony and its symbolism, however, are clear: Hidalgo’s call helped launch a war for independence that continued until the collapse of Spanish authority in 1821. Today, the ritual on the night of Sept. 15 into the 16th — the ringing of the parish bell, the shouted grito, fireworks and parades — remains among Mexico’s most vivid national traditions.
Colombia: July 20 and a wider revolutionary process
In Bogotá, Colombians mark July 20, 1810, as the anniversary of the city’s uprising that led to the creation of a local junta and set in motion the region’s longer war of independence from Spain. The events in Santa Fe de Bogotá sparked political reorganization across the viceroyalty of New Granada and are commemorated as the start of Colombia’s independence process, although definitive declarations and military campaigns unfolded over subsequent years. 4
The July 20 observance recalls a civic moment — sometimes described in local histories as beginning with a staged dispute over a flower vase — that helped galvanize criollo and urban opinion against colonial officials and led local leaders to form the Junta de Santa Fe. The National Congress later formalized July 20 as the date of commemoration.
Shared roots: Napoleonic Europe and colonial change
Historians place both Mexico’s and Colombia’s uprisings in the wider context of the Napoleonic wars, which weakened Spain’s ability to govern its colonies and created political openings for local elites and popular actors alike. Across the Spanish-ruled Americas, the period between about 1810 and 1825 saw a cascade of revolutionary movements that produced the modern nations of Latin America.
How people celebrate today
Modern celebrations blend official ritual with popular festivities. In Mexico, civic and military parades, regional dances, mariachis and communal meals — along with the president’s balcony cry — dominate the Sept. 16 observance. In Colombia, July 20 is marked by parades, concerts and civic ceremonies in Bogotá and in regional capitals, where local history and music help frame the commemoration. Both countries also see diasporic observances in cities abroad. 7
Why these anniversaries endure
Independence anniversaries perform civic memory: contemporary states to founding moments provide a focal point for national symbols, and offer an annual chance to reflect. For many families, the holidays are also occasions to pass down food, music and local stories to a new generation. 8
Quick facts
• Mexican Independence Day: Sept. 16, commemorating the 1810 Grito de Dolores (ceremony performed the night of Sept. 15). 9
• Colombian Independence Day: July 20, commemorating the 1810 uprising in Bogotá that led to the Junta de Santa Fe.
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