Translated to English as “cry of Dolores,” this Mexican holiday commemorates the early hours of September 16, 1810 when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell in the town of Dolores and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence.

Grito de Dolores became the battle cry of an ad hoc army led by a clergyman that marched out of Dolores and toward the capital city to put an end to the corrupt government of the “gachupines.” The uprising failed to conquer New Spain, but it began a movement that led to Mexican independence 10 years later. 

Today, Grito de Dolores is celebrated with reenactments of Hidalgo’s call to arms, parades, fireworks and music. Also referred to as Día de la Independencia, or Mexican Independence Day, this fiesta-filled public holiday marks the birth of the modern nation.