Before the Tequila, Let's Get Some Facts Straight
It's September again, known in Mexico also as Mes de la Patria (month of the homeland) because it's when this country celebrates its day of independence. As expected, the festivities include national colors, national symbols, but more importantly family, music, dancing, pozole, tequila, and the general abandon that comes with these kind of festivities. This weekend I am going write extensively about it, especially since I am participating in the Viva México Challenge hosted by 
What Is The Exact Date?
Okay, for all of you who were wondering “Isn't Mexican Independence in May?” please remember this moment, and pretend you've always known correctly: Cinco de Mayo is another Mexican national holiday. I'll write more about that once we get around to it. No, Independence Day is somewhere in mid-September. Question is, which day? The 15th? Or maybe the 16th? Maybe both? Interestingly, even Mexicans tend to be uncertain about this. In the end, however, it's not that important. Consider New Years: the actual holiday is New Years Day on January 1st, but that day is mostly spent recovering from the wild parties of New Years Eve, which is a regular working day. It's quite similar in this case too: while the calendar says the 16th, the fiestas take place on the 15th.
Don Porfirio's Birthday?
An often cited reason for the confusion is also the birthday of the late president Porfirio Díaz. Serving seven terms, Díaz was much more than just a president. From 1876 to 1911 he was the great dictator of the country (with the exception of four years), bringing a welcomed stability after the turbulent 19th century ravished Mexico with internal and external conflicts, wars, invasions, and violent power struggles between monarchists and republicans, liberals and conservatives. Ironically, his long and tight grip on the reigns of the state also contributed to the Mexican Revolution, so he's not always regarded favorably by Mexicans today. However, the pompous celebrations of his birthday, just one day before the most important national holiday, had long lasting effects.
Reasons for Independence: The Second Class Wanting To Come First
The story behind the independence of Mexico is complicated one, having to do with many factors. The most important one is probably the so called criollos seizing their opportunity to gain more power after the ripples from Napoleon's ambitions in Europe reached the New World. Though the sound of the word criollo may conjure images of creole, or mixed-race people, in this context criollo was used to refer to mostly wealthy, often noble landowning families of (almost) purely Spanish descent, with the only distinction that they were not born in Spain but in the New World. So while this made them second class citizens, their social standing was still much higher than the third, fifth, and ninety-nineth classes of mestizos (actual mixed races), indios (indigenous people), or slaves brought in from Africa and Asia.
A Nationally Iconic Moment: The Cry of Dolores
When Napoleon conquered Spain in 1808 and made his brother the local king, it was a small group of criollos who decided it was time to put their foot down. Since Napoleon was less concerned with matters in the New World anyway, and people in Mexico had a hard enough time submitting to the Spanish crown, not to mention the French one, these Insurgentes, as they became famously known, started plotting a conspiracy. Using the occasion to gain support from other social classes, they promised wide-ranging reforms to the underprivileged. Though many of these remained unfulfilled, with time it became acceptable to openly complain about the monarch and his administration. The culmination of this campaign happened in the town of Dolores (today Dolores Hidalgo), where around 2:30 a.m. on September 16th 1810 Miguel Hidalgo, a criollo priest, rang the church bells for a late-night / early-morning mass, going into history as the Grito de Dolores.
Consequences of Independence
As an immediate result of Hidalgo's cry political prisoners were freed and people started taking up arms against the crown, or for the crown, in any case against each other. They were encouraged by many lofty notions: slaves were promised their freedom, indios their land and a stop to having to pay tribute, and mestizos all kinds of wonderful things. People of privilege, of course, had to fight to protect it, so a long, drawn-out conflict was inevitable. After eleven years of fighting Mexico finally declared its independence from Spain. Though the slaves were freed from direct dependence on their owners into the less direct economical dependence, indios and mestizos barely saw any changes to their social situations. The privileged criollos, however, could now openly participate in the power-grab that followed, which could lead to further wealth and influence, or if they didn't play their cards well, to being executed as traitors.
El Grito Today:
Although most insurgents also found their demise in their movement for independence, they are remembered up to this day, especially during the celebrations of Independence Day, as in the tradition of the Grito Méxicano. In this annual call commemorating Hidalgo's cry, the incumbent president steps out on the balcony of the Palacio Nacional at the Zócalo, at midnight between September 15th and 16th and rings the same bell Hidalgo rang supposedly. In his call he repeats the names of the most important insurgents: Hidalgo, Morelos, Dominguez, Allende, Aldama, and Matamoros, amids lots of Viva! Viva! Viva la Indepencia! Viva México!