¡Feliz Día de la Independencía de Mexico! Happy Mexico Independence Day!

One of the things we love most about our school is learning about and appreciating the diversity among our Spanish- speaking staff. We have had teachers from Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, El Salvador and Argentina. Having a diverse staff affords our students the opportunity to be exposed to different vocabulary, different dialects and different cultures even within the Spanish language.

Today our Mexican staff celebrated Mexico’s Independence Day. Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not the day that most Mexicans celebrate their Independence. The big day for them is Sept. 16th. Cinco de Mayo actually celebrates Mexico’s victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Sept. 16th of 1810 is when Father Costillo (a Mexican priest who had had enough of Spain’s dominance) called for Mexico’s Independence from Spain and thus is the date celebrated among Mexicans around the world.

Typically Sept. 16th is celebrated with parades, fireworks, parties and on the day before Sept. 16th the current Mexican President recites “El Grito” (means the shout) on national TV. El Grito is the speech that was given by Father Costillo in 1810 to announce Mexico’s Independence. Many Mexicans celebrate by doing their own “Grito” (shout) and you can learn more about the traditional shout here on this You Tube Video. Here is a short 30 second video of a man who says his Dad does the best Grito of all!

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia de Mexico!