For Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, a rebellious priest ringing a church bell at dawn conjures similar images.
Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, a priest in the village of Dolores, called for the arrest of the town's native Spaniards by ringing the bell 192 years ago Monday. For hundreds of years beforehand, Spain oppressively had ruled Mexico. Hidalgo's defiance is commemorated every Sept. 16, Mexico's formal Independence Day.
The independence movement had been brewing in Mexico since Napoleon's conquest of Spain in 1808, but Hidalgo's insurrection seriously helped weaken the Spanish hold on the country.
Though Hidalgo was later executed, his actions sparked the 10-year war that resulted in an independent Mexico.
"He was really fighting for the poor people," said Juvencio R. Peralta Jr., a member of the El Pueblo board of directors. El Pueblo is a Raleigh-based Latino advocacy and policy organization. The organization runs La Fiesta del Pueblo, held earlier this month at Chapel Hill High School.
"(Independence Day) is a very big celebration," said Ysaura Rodriguez, a board member for El Pueblo. Rodriguez grew up in Huetamo, a city in the Mexican state of Michoacan. She said Mexicans celebrate their Independence Day like many Americans celebrate theirs.
"There's parades all over the place," she said. "Even the small villages have parades."
Rodriguez said one of her fondest memories was winning her community's Independence Day poetry competition. She especially enjoyed beating her brother, who jokingly questioned the reliability of the judging.
"He said I won just because I was a woman," she said, laughing.
