Autumn in Mexico part 1

Mes patria flags, Morelia, Michoacan.

I love autumn in Mexico. It's a colourful time - and I don't mean that in the Northern European sense with the leaves changing colour on the trees et al. Not to say that doesn't happen - it does - but not on the scale I'm used to, and anyway it's overshadowed by the "man-made" colour of the autumn.

Autumn should herald the end of the summer rainy season - with any luck - though some years the rains seem to go on and on and on. And it's a good thing that the rains do end, or at least die down, as the Mexican people want to get out into the streets in mid-September to celebrate Independence Day - the first colourful event of the autumn. (I'm not really sure this counts as autumn though.)

Independence Day is celebrated on the night of 15th September but the colour starts at the beginning of the month: everything turns green, white and red. It’s fabulous. The buildings are adorned with huge flags; in Mexico City you can see huge flags that run down the skyscrapers. Then ambulantes (street vendors) appear on street corners selling flags, whistles, dolls, toys, sombreros and just about anything else you can think of with a Mexico flag on it or in Mexican colours.

The celebrations themselves take place at night. At 11pm the president goes out onto the balcony of the Government Palace, facing the Zocalo (main square) in Mexico City and pronounces his grito – his cry for independence – emulating Father Miguel Hidalgo whose grito from the church in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato was the original cry for independence back in 1810. No record has survived of what Hidalgo said so now the president creates his own grito. This is usually full of Vivas – Viva México (Long live Mexico) is very common. He also rings a large bell. When he is finished, the president then waves the huge flag he is carrying, before going back inside. This event is watched by literally millions of people, in the zocalo itself and on national tv. Afterwards there is normally a spectacular firework display. This grito is repeated in squares all over the country. It’s also common school children to re-enact it during the day.

The fireworks are another reason for the colour at this time of the year as are the clothes; many Mexican people choose to wear traditional costumes which are generally very colourful. Traditional food also tends to follow the green, white and red colouring too – honest. It’s very common to see huge bottles of flavoured water lined up: green is lemon flavoured, white is horchata (rice water) and red is jamaica – I’m afraid I have no idea what this is called in English! Sorry. There’s fabulous food at this time of the year – then again, when isn’t there? With a proliferation of red and green sauces. However, I’m not going to go into detail about food here or I’ll never finish this blog entry, which is what I want to do now.
Mes patria – patriotic month, or Mexico month, is a great time to visit Mexico.