Mexican Independance Day

When do people in Mexico celebrate Mexican Independence Day?

• September 14th

• September 15th

• September 16th

• May 5th (please don't select this option if you want to remain friends)

Answer explanation

This is actually a trick question. Mexican Independence Day is September 16th, however the official celebration ("El Grito") occurs the night of September 15th!

The eagle on the Mexican flag is...

• Spreading its wings

• Eating a snake

• Eating a taco

• Landing on a cactus

Answer explanation

The Aztecs were told by their God, Huitzilopochtli, (God of war and the sun), to build their capital where they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus eating a snake. Tenochtitlán became their capital which is now modern Mexico City.

This symbol reflects strength, resilience, and the founding of the Aztec empire.

To celebrate Mexican Independence Day, Mexico's President steps out on the main balcony of the National Palace and yells...

• "¡Si se puede!"

• "¡Viva la huelga"

• ¡Ay, caramba!
  (hint, this is NOT it!!)

• None of the above

Answer explanation

Just before midnight on September 15, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo, a priest from the small town of Dolores ordered the church bells to be rung, Hidalgo cried out to the native Mexicans urging them to stand up and take back the lands stolen from their forefathers, ending with the now-famous cry: “Viva Mexico!”

Today, the Mexican President, marks Mexican Independence Day by ringing the same bell Hidalgo rang and recreating his call. This celebration is known as "El Grito de Dolores" (the call/yell of Dolores)--during which the President also names all the heroes of the fight for independence. It's truly a special celebration, I encourage you to watch the attached video. Fun fact, I was born 15 mins away from "El Zocalo," the plaza where this celebration takes place.

(You can fast forward to 1:53 in the video)

One of the greatest heroes of Mexican Independence is José María Morelos y Pavón. He was a....

• Farmer

• Priest

• YouTuber
  (seriously people, don't pick this)

• Teacher

Answer explanation

José María Morelos was a priest who assumed command of Mexico’s Independence movement after Miguel Hidalgo’s 1810 rebellion and subsequent execution. He served as a catalyst, and inspired the general population to rise in arms and give themselves to a higher cause: sovereignty, dignity, equality, and a better life.

He was eventually captured by the Spanish, tried, and executed. He fought to remove all class and race distinctions. He is always depicted as wearing a bandana because he suffered from migraines.
Fun fact, I attended a school called Colegio Morelos when I lived in Mexico. :)

"Epopeya del pueblo mexicano" (The History of Mexico) mural was painted by...

• Frida Kahlo

• José Clemente Orozco

• Diego Rivera

• David Alfaro Siqueiros

Answer explanation

This is one of my favorite Diego Rivera's work of art. This mural not only depicts the various phases of Mexico's history--starting with the founding of Tenochtitlan with the eagle in the center, the fight of the Aztecs against Cortéz to the fight for Mexican Independence and the Mexican Revolution. More so, it attempts to make the point that many of our current struggles can be traced back to a fundamental fight over "class."

To geek out on all the amazing aspects of this mural watch this video: https://youtu.be/Ym10TlHUs-g?feature=shared (48mins)

What type of beans did the Aztecs also use as currency?

• Black Beans

• Cacao Beans

• Soy Beans

• Refried Beans

Answer explanation

The Aztecs took chocolate admiration to another level. They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Like the Maya, they enjoyed the caffeinated kick of hot or cold, spiced chocolate beverages in ornate containers, but they also used cacao beans as currency to buy food and other goods. In Aztec culture, cacao beans were considered more valuable than gold.

Aztec chocolate, which they called xocolatl, was mostly an upper-class extravagance, although the lower classes enjoyed it occasionally at weddings or other celebrations. Perhaps the most notorious Aztec chocolate lover of all was the Aztec ruler Montezuma II (Cuauhtémoc's uncle) who allegedly drank gallons of xocolatl each day for energy.

El Pípila was the first, and most unlikely, hero of Mexico´s War for Independence. He was a...

• Priest

• Farmer

• Miner

• Teacher

Answer explanation

El Pípila was miner from modern day San Miguel de Allende. He shot to fame for his bravery in 1810. After revolutionaries led by the priest Miguel Hidalgo arrived in Guanajuato, the Spanish rulers barricaded themselves inside a granary in the northwest part of the city. In order to break down the wooden door of the Alhóndiga, El Pípila strapped a heavy, flat stone to his back for protection from the Spanish muskets and set fire to the door with his torch. With the door destroyed, the revolutionaries were able to gain access. Today, a 65ft statue of El Pípila celebrates him in his home state.
To this day, whenever someone in Mexico is carrying something heavy on their back, people will say you look like "El Pípila!" :)

Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, a heroine of Mexico’s Independence War, made her name in history by...

• Hosting revolutionary conspiracy meetings in her home

• Alerting the rebel insurgents about the discovery of their independence plans

• She worked with a small group to deliver a working draft of the proposed new Mexican Constitution

• She and her husband hosted the first Mexican Congress

Answer explanation

Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez or La Corregidora was an insurgent and supporter of the Mexican War of Independence. Known as "the mother of Mexico's nationhood" and was one of a handful of women of the elite class to actively support Mexico's independence from Spain. She participated in the preparation of the insurgent movement and risked her life by alerting the insurgents that their movement had been discovered; information that led to advance the date of proclamation of Independence.  

Her home became a meeting place for the revolutionary conspiracy under the guise of a literary group!