09/16/2026
Often confused with Cinco de Mayo by people living in the United States, Mexico’s Independence Day is actually September 16. The date marks the moment when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest known as Father Hidalgo, made the first cry for independence.
Mexico’s War for Independence from Spain lasted for over 11 years, but September 16, 1810, when the fight commenced with a historic battle cry, is universally regarded as the nation’s Independence Day.
A pivotal tradition of the holiday is honoring “El Grito de Dolores” known colloquially as “El Grito,” the famous battle cry from September 1810 uttered by Miguel Hidalgo that kicked off the War for Independence. Hidalgo, who resided in the city of Delores famously took up the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint, inspiring many to follow him and begin the fight for independence in earnest.
With the help of Agustín de Iturbide, a Mexican military leader who defected from Spain, the freedom fighters took Mexico City in February 1821 and declared national independence, none of which would have been possible without “El Grito de Dolores.” Iturbide’s Plan de Iguala, established three key tenets of sovereign Mexico: Independence from Spain, equality for Spaniards and Creoles within the country, and a ban on all religions besides Roman Catholicism.
The red, white and green of the flag have symbolic meaning. The green represents the Mexican independence. The white celebrates the religion at the heart of the Mexican culture and people. And the red is the union between the religion and the independence.