Mexico's Independence Day: 10 Fun Facts You Probably Didn't Know About The Mexican Holiday

We should still be proud to be Mexican and remember the heroes that fought for our Nation on September 15 and 16 back in 1810. Mexico’s Independence Day should be a reason to celebrate how far we’ve come and the battles

that we’ve won and keep in mind that we have done it once before and we can do it again. ¡Viva

México!

Here are some fun facts you probably didn’t know about this important date:

1) Do we celebrate September 15 or 16?

Celebrations begin at 11 PM on the 15. However, the "El Grito de Dolores" happened at 2 AM on September 16, 1810.

Rumor has it that Porfirio Díaz was the one who changed the festivities so it would coincide with his birthday but it was later acknowledged that this ritual began in 1812, 18 years before the General was even born.

2) Miguel Hidalgo’s face didn’t look the way artists portray it nowadays:

Spaniards got rid of

Miguel Hidalgo y Cotilla

's portraits so painters had to create an image based on his brothers’ features. According to sources, Hidalgo

y Costilla

wasn’t bald or had gray hair, he

was featured like that because when he

was murdered part of his scalp was missing.

3) Was “El Pípila” real?

There is no proof to corroborate the existence of Juan José de Los Reyes

Martínez Amaro

, "El Pípila," a miner who helped in the taking of the "Alhóndiga de Granaditas" by torching the door. People believe he might represent the men who died during Mexico’s Independence battle.

4) Liberals boycotted the 100th celebration of Mexico’s Independence:

During the celebration in 1910,

oppositors covered the bell’s interior with fabric so when the then President, Porfirio Díaz, attempted to ring it, no sound came out.

5) Ignacio Allende tried to poison Miguel Hidalgo 3 times:

Allende allegedly tried to poison Don Miguel Hidalgo not once, not twice, but three times! According to some sources, there was always someone looking out for the “priest” so he never succeeded.

6) Where do “Chiles en Nogada” come from?

When Agustín de Iturbide headed to Puebla to celebrate his birthday, the nuns at “El Convento de Santa Mónica” made the delicious dish for him and stated that it represented the 3 colors in the Mexican flag.

7) The 200-year celebration of Mexico’s Independence was commemorated 11 years in advance:

Even though festivities happened back in 2010, "200 years" will not be marked until 2021. According to historians, Mexico’s Declaration of Independence wasn’t signed until 1821.

8) “La Corregidora” suffered from strabismus:

María Josefa Crescencia Ortiz Téllez-Girón, popularly known as Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez or “La Corregidora,” was an insurgent and supporter of the Mexican War of Independencia. She was married to Miguel Domínguez, corregidor of the city of Querétaro, hence her nickname.

9) “El Ángel de la Independencia” is not really an angel:

The statue located on Avenida Reforma in Mexico City is in fact a representation of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory. However, to México and the rest of the world, the monument is known as “El Ángel de la Independencia.”

10) Miguel Hidalgo didn’t ring the bell of Dolores:

It was José Galván, the church’s bell boy, who rang the bell while Hidalgo was at the door telling residents to come in.