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Viva Mexico! This is how we celebrate our national holidays

September 16 is a special day for Mexicans, where they commemorate the beginning of Mexico's long battle for national sovereignty. Our Tecpetrol employees share what the date means to them, and how they celebrate this special day.

The traditional events held to mark Mexican independence have been religiously respected for over 200 years. Every midnight on September 15, the Mexican president summons the population to gather around the National Palace to replicate the "Cry of Dolores", remembering the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence, thus announcing the start of the national holidays.

Just as it did back in 1810, a church bell is rung, followed by the national anthem: "Mexicans! Long live the heroes who gave us a country! Long live Hidalgo! Long live Morelos! Long live Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez! Long live Allende! Long live Aldama! Long live Mexico!"

This is followed by street parties and parades held all over the country, where houses are lit up and typical dishes are prepared and shared. "We celebrate this day with our families and friends, enjoying typical food, and some people dress up in the colors of the flag and wear traditional costumes," explains Adriana Gasperin, HRPB Analyst, in the video assortment of stories, good wishes and reflections.

Tradition has it that it was a priest called Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, accompanied by fellow revolutionaries Ignacio Allende and Juan Aldama, who sounded the alarm, ringing a church bell to rouse his parishioners on September 16, 1810, in the town of Dolores Hidalgo, some 300 kilometers from the capital, inspiring them to take up arms. It is this beginning of the revolutionary movement, on September 16, that is taken to mark Mexico's Independence Day.

The war for Mexican independence thus began on September 16, 1810, and lasted eleven years until the Trigarante Army entered Mexico City, on September 27, 1821. As was the case with other Spanish colonies, it was the political crisis caused by the French occupation of the metropolis that prompted the region known as New Spain to start down the path to national sovereignty.

"Our independence enhances our values, our cultural greatness and the hospitality for which we are so famous," says Ana Piña, Sr. Quality Engineer.

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