“Viva Mexico!”

Mexico is celebrating the 194th anniversary of its independence from Spain.

Tonight, President Vicente Fox delivers the “grito” – or cry for independence – from the national palace.

But this year’s independence celebrations also mark the 150th anniversary of the Mexican National Anthem, interpreted for the first time on the night of September 15, 1854, during the last government of General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

Mexicans had been asked to stop what they were doing at noon today… and sing.

16 September is Independence Day and a national holiday.

Filed in: Events & Festivals, Mexican Life & Society