The Bicentenario kicks off tonight, marking Mexico’s 200th year of independence from Spain. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime celebration and a huge deal here in Mexico City.
The Zócalo — which has hosted a clock for more than a year, counting down the days to 12:00 a.m. on Sept. 16 — is going to be nuts, with 50,000 people expected there alone. (I will not be one of them; I’ll be near the Angel, celebrating with friends.) They’ve constructed a huge stage to host a flame show, acrobats and music. There’ll also be patriotic images projected over the cathedral. (I caught a TV special devoted to the Zócalo party last night. An entire 30-minute TV special!)
Reforma is going to be crazy, too. Starting at 6 p.m., there’s going to be a parade of “allegoric cars,” detailing different parts of Mexican culture and history. Lila Downs will give a free concert at the Glorieta Cuauhtémoc, only a short walk from our old apartment. Kinky and Maldita Vecindad will perform at the Caballito, while Natalia Lafourcade, Ely Guerra, Aleks Syntek, Paulina Rubio and Los Tigres del Norte will perform at the Angel.
The city has even prohibited alcohol sales through early Friday morning at midnight, except at restaurants and bars. (So there’ll be no drunken runs to Oxxo at 12:30 a.m.) I repeat: it’s going to be crazy.
The mood here is strangely calm, but excited. Just like they did last year, vendors have popped up selling straw sombreros, flags, fake moustaches, tri-colored bandannas and beads. The facades of several buildings in the Centro have been festooned with flags and papel picado. Yesterday I saw one dude wearing tri-colored face makeup and a red-green-and-white wig, already.
UPDATE: I should have mentioned this earlier, but many U.S. news media outlets are reporting that Mexicans don’t feel much like celebrating this year. A few links for you:
CNN: Mexico Bicentennial No Cause for Celebration Among Many Citizens
The New York Times: Mexican Bicentennial Falls Short of Fervor
El Paso Times: Drug Violence Mutes Juarez Grito Commemoration
A few photos from the Centro yesterday:
The fantastic chile en nogada from El Popular, a restaurant in the Centro
The Zocalo, which halfway resembles a construction site
More decorations in the Zocalo. The folks on the rooftop are going to have an awesome view.
Note the Torre Latinoamericana in the distance, draped with a Mexican flag
Even the Mix-Up music store got into the patriotic spirit
My Bicentenario outfit -- notice the tricolored headband and earrings resting on the blouse.
Hola! The decorative celebrations are all set for Cancun and Playa del Carmen as well. I currently live in Cancun while the boyfriend lives in Playa. Both cities have taken great pride in showing what the 200th year means to them. We have chosen to celebrate in Playa tonight and we are both looking forward to the show. Now, if we can only keep hurricane Karl at bay…all the best…and enjoy!
Happy 200th!
I LOVE your outfit! That skirt is gorgeous. Maybe soon we’ll see a photo of you wearing it?
When I was in DF the first week of September, I was amazed at the different ways businesses displayed the red, green and white. They used towels, dried beans, etc. Whatever they were selling, they found merchandise in the tri-colors and had it in the windows, hanging from the doors, stacked up on shelves. Such ingenuity and country pride!
Is it true that Prez Calderon sent a flag to each household?
have fun!!
Thanks Joan! And no, we didn’t get a flag for our house. Maybe Calder
Lucky girl! I can’t wait to hear about the festivities. I went to the Bicentenario celebration in East Harlem on Sunday and the street looked like something out of Mexico City, vendors with flags and tri-color rosaries, chicharrones con limon y Valentina being sold by the bag and a line for carnitas that wrapped around the block! There were hundreded and hundreds of Mexicans eating, talking and dancing despite the drizzly rain. P.S. The food styling of the El Popular Chile en Nogada is adorable (garnishing mine that way next time) as is the skirt for your Bicentenario outfit, que preciosa.
Have fun tonight, amiga! Be safe! And take tons of pics! 🙂
Gorgeous skirt! I hope we get to see a pic of you wearing your outfit. Have you tried the chile en nogada at Bella Lula on Lerma? Delish!!!
Wow! What an awesome experience to be part of. Love your skirt too…, very festive 🙂 Looking forward to your happy snaps.
Wow, its great that you will experience this amazing celebration in person. I’m originally from El Paso, Texas and am saddened at the news in Juarez. But that does not stop me from celebrating at home in Colorado 😉 Have a blast!!!
Wow, so jelly! Caught it on TV from the states but so not the same, can’t wait to hear your recount the festivities!
It’s a shame that the violence has dampened people’s spirits for such a historic event. It sounds like a lot of amazing things are planned and if it’s anything like the parade I saw on TV last night, so much fun, so many beautiful things to see.
Happy Independence Day. Hoping this is the beginning of better times for México.
I don’t comprehend why there were so many Mexican Independence Day celebrations in California. Last time I checked Mexico didn’t host a bunch of July 4th celebrations for us. It brings back the point of if one loves Mexico so much, why is he or she here in America? I am mostly of Italian and German decent, but I don’t go partying on Italian and German holidays because I am an American.
I almost feel that Mexico would be a more stable, competent, and less impoverished country had it still been under control of Spain. It appears Mexico has not taken advantage of it’s independence in the last 200 years, so there isn’t much to celebrate about anyways.
I think you can still be American and celebrate your own culture. I’m proud to be Mexican-American and I celebrate these holidays with gusto — in no way does that makes me un-American, it just makes me proud of who I am.
Also, mentioning the lack of 4th of July celebrations in Mexico isn’t an accurate comparison. California used to be part of Mexico. It has a long, deep and complicated history with Mexico, and the culture there runs deep. Regarding Mexico having had flourished if under Spain’s control — Spain isn’t doing so hot right now either, World Cup victory notwithstanding. I think there’s plenty to celebrate about modern-day Mexico; I’m sorry you don’t agree.
hi my name is daniel im from las vegas nevada i love the u.s.a. like you dont even imagine but still im a proud mexican family decendent so think about this that is what makes this country our home the best country because of that diversity or we be only like cuba or china and another little thing is call marketing mexican-americans spend so MUCH MONEY why did you think all the beer companies want to be the only sponsor of the mexican national team because of the money mexican people spend other is home depot and why mexico isnot under the spanish government if that was the case the first thing our country will not be the same remember half of the u.s.a. was mexico florida was also from spain so the next time you want to post a big opinion like that think about it dont let the italian come out !!! but celebrate our beautiful culture the mix of ednities and SAY THANK YOU NATIVES OF AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!
Being a citizen in the United States is one thing and being Mexican is another. Plus America is a continent so we would all be Americans anyways.
Just found your Blog…LOVE IT! I will definitely be working on my mexican cooking skills thanks to your experience. My husband and I enjoy the mexican culture also and have found an area just north or Puerto Vallarta, that is delightful due to the exceptional food as well as the friendly people. The town is called San Poncho and is about 45 minutes North of PV but a world away as far as the typical resort experience (although there is a small resort located there that as visitors to the town, we are welcomed to book tours if desired. We mostly just veg, drink and eat at private homes we rent.) I was wondering if you have done any exploration into the Mexican Coffee market. We have our fav that we have to stock up on when we get south of the border. I think there are many good varieties and think you would be an excellent reviewer. Hopefully we will be able to pick up some of our fave in January while celebrating our 25th anniversary. You are living my dream, so count me in as a fan…
Thanks so much Rebecca! I’m glad you found me. I confess I haven’t done a lot of research on Mexican coffee. I do have my favorite coffee shops here in town, and there are a few places where I like to buy my beans. For the latter, I like Jekemir in the Centro and Passmar in Del Valle. And, even though I am slightly ashamed to admit it… Costco in Polanco, which has a really nice Mexican organic blend sold in a green bag. I don’t recall the name.
It would be fun to write more about my favorite coffee shops here in DF — thanks for the idea. 🙂
Hi,
My student found your blog and linked to it. We’ve been following the Bicentenario on Twitter and they’ve been blogging about the topic “Bicentenario: Celebrar o Comemorar?” You can see it HERE.