Present Day – Fiestas Patrias

Present Day

Well, here they are again, the “Fiestas Patrias!” Time for all of us gringos to hide out. The fiesta is definetly for the Mexican people, rife with athletic events, we don’t really care for like soccer games, foot races, basketball games, the endless school children’s parades, and speeches. Lots and lots of speeches by long winded politicians.

Well this year, take heart. There’s going to be…an inauguration of the Feria (Carnival) on September 14th…the arrival of the torch from Queretaro on the 15th…and the entrance of the insurgents at 1:15 P.M. on the 16th!

Not your cup of tea? Well, there’s always the Luciernaga shopping center. Lord knows we can’t go swimming. All the “Hot springs” will be infested with chilangoes. Good time for a trip to the States? Sure, but what about the crime? The Drug traffickers? The West Nile virus? No need to confront all that! Life’s too short after all!

I suggest curling up with a good book. One of mine, of course. September is “Mexican History Month,” isn’t it? What with Allende riding in the parade, sword in hand, taming the unruly mob. Scenes of blood thirsty insurgents surging into town, drunk with power, Hidalgo at their head.

If you’re struggling, trying to understand the Mexican people, reading their history could help. And the atmosphere in town this month IS conducive to reading history….

An excerpt from “A Gringo Guide to Mexican History,” available for download at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com:

THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE
No other comparable period of its history brought San Miguel such attention or distinction as the early days of the war.

The brothers Aldama, along with Ignacio Allende and a very considerable number of other Sanmiguelenses, were prominent in the war. It was in San Miguel that the first government of any sort operated free from the influence of the Crown, and San Miguel bore the major burden of clothing and arming the army.

Allende had been plotting and recruiting supporters for independence since early in 1809. He found wide acceptance for the idea. This is why:

Although much printed material was prohibited or censored by the Holy Office—better known as the Inquisition—these restrictions were never rigidly enforced in Nueva España. Copies of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights were to be found throughout the country. So, too, was the French “Rights of Man.” In philosophy and theology many Liberal writers were questioning the old order, and the works of these writers were also available. Among the upper classes these Liberal and anti-monarchical ideas took root during the last half of the 1700s. The Masonic movement took hold in Mexico and, if it didn’t flourish, it definitely exerted and influence on the independence movement.

Another factor was that the Creoles (Mexican-born Spaniards—and by the time in question there were far more of these than there were “pure” Spaniards) were treated as second class citizens vis-a-vis their Spanish-born cousins. Birthplace, rather than merit, governed the selection of bishops, generals, judges, and government tax collectors and administrators. Because this was so, it was customary for wealthy Creole families to take their daughters to Spain when seeking a husband. Mexico had always had a more “upwardly mobile” society than her mother country, perhaps because of the huge amount of wealth there, with fewer people to take advantage of it, or the distances involved between King and subjects. Commercial interests occupied more of the hearts and minds of the citizens of Mexico than was evident in Spain. Trade restrictions galled. The Royal monopolies caused a slow burn. And the taxes!!!