According to Wikipedia, the War of Independence to free Mexico from Spain started on September 16th, 1810. If I recall my history books properly, we were taught that the war itself started at midnight, and thus in Mexico both days are taken as half-holiday and holiday respectively (Sep 15th and 16th). While the English entry in Wikipedia is not that bad, I really like the Spanish version. It's much more complete and filled with details.
What surprises me is that in Canada and the US, so many people celebrate May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) as the Mexican Independence Day. In Mexican history, this is relatively a minor holiday (the Battle of Puebla) compared to September 16th. Some people in Canada and the US consider it a celebration of Mexican heritage (according to the Wikipedia entry) but I always wonder how would Canadians feel if Mexicans started celebrating Victoria Day instead of Canada Day :)
At any rate, tomorrow is a day to celebrate and I am not sure why I haven't seen any promotionals from the Mexican consulate in Vancouver in regards to celebrations. Last year, there were lots of parties organized around the theme, but I haven't seen anything this time around. Anyone has any scoop?
UPDATE - In light of the recent comments, I tried to search for Mexican events at the Plaza of Nations, but didn't find anything. That being said, HURRY to the Rocky Mountaineer Station for a 6pm doors opening start of the Mexican Grito. Here is the scoop:
El Grito en Vivo
Rocky Mountaineer Station
1775 Cotterell Street
(off Terminal Avenue - you can walk from Main St. Skytrain station)
And also, as I mentioned before, there seems to be another event at
La Casa del Artista
150 East 3rd Avenue
(between Main and Quebec)
[Apparently El Mariachi Mexico is playing there]
These events should give me a percentage of the revenue for re-directing traffic to their events! (just kidding hehe). Hope everyone enjoys the celebrations. I can't go to either event as I have too much work. But please leave a comment on the comments section and do tell me how these events were.
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3 comments:
hey im mexican and i was looking for some celebration here in vancouver about the independence day and nothing!..this is my first independence day here and im a little dissapointed by the lack of interest on this...too bad!
Yeah, this year seems to be rather subdued. I don't know if this is the result of the Presidential election and shift in presidential helms (e.g. from Vicente Fox who came to Vancouver a few times to Felipe Calderon, whom I only think has gone to Ottawa recently).
There is a mexican restaurant in the Place of Nations that celebrates Independence day
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