August 20, 2026
The Meaning Behind ‘El Grito’ and Why It Matters Today
Most tequila brands trace their story back to a founder, a formula, or a good idea. Tequila Corralejo traces its story back to a revolution. Hacienda Corralejo, the estate in Guanajuato that has produced tequila since 1755, is also where Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was born and raised – the priest whose early morning call to arms became the famous cry of Mexican independence.
Every sixteenth of September, that history gets a national holiday. But the night that actually matters – the one decorated in flags and bursting with fireworks, where crowds lose their voices in unison – isn't the sixteenth at all. It's the night before.
Here's what El Grito de Dolores actually is, where it came from, and why the version most people know is only a part of the story.
What Is El Grito? The History Behind Mexican Independence Day
El Grito de Dolores is the single act historians point to as the start of Mexican independence. In the early hours of September 16th, 1810, a parish priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bell of his church in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato, and called his congregation into the street. From the steps of his church, he addressed the crowd directly, calling on them to rise up against Spanish rule and reclaim the equal standing and self-determination that three centuries of colonial law had denied them. Because no transcript of the speech survives, historians disagree on Hidalgo's exact wording, but its message was clear: unite the people, and fight for a Mexico that belonged to them.
That bell is why the phrase, “What is El Grito?” is one of the most searched questions every September. It's indignation, resistance, and ignition. It's also why the town of Dolores earned a new name once Mexico won its independence eleven years later, in 1821. Since then, and to this day, the town is known as Dolores Hidalgo.
The Priest Born at Hacienda Corralejo
While many retellings provide a historical account of El Grito, they omit the origin story of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla himself. He was born at Hacienda Corralejo in 1753, the same estate in Guanajuato that has been producing tequila since 1755. The land that nourishes Tequila Corralejo’s agave fields and distills every bottle is the very same that shaped Hidalgo, the Mexican people, and the sense that something had to change.
That connection is documented history, part of the hacienda's own record for more than two centuries. It's also part of why Hacienda Corralejo still holds official production rights outside Jalisco, a status the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) recognizes for only a handful of estates in Mexican tequila culture.
When Is Mexican Independence Day?
Mexican Independence Day falls on September 16th, marking the anniversary of Hidalgo's call to arms. But if you're only marking your calendar for the 16th, you'll miss the main event. When is Mexican Independence Day actually celebrated? The night before. The tradition has long been to reenact El Grito on the evening of September 15th, timed to land just before midnight, close to the hour Hidalgo rang his own bell.
It’s this holiday that is most often confused with Cinco de Mayo, which is what many mistake for Mexico's Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo marks a battle won against France in 1862, more than fifty years after Hidalgo's Grito and well after independence had already been won. September 16th honors the start of an eleven-year war for independence. May 5th is a single battle inside an entirely different conflict, decades later. If you’re curious, we've laid out exactly how Cinco de Mayo and Mexico's Independence Day differ.
How El Grito Is Celebrated Today
On the night of September 15, hundreds of thousands of people fill the Zócalo, Mexico City's main plaza, packed shoulder to shoulder in front of the National Palace. Nearly everyone is wearing some combination of green, white, and red. At 11 p.m., the president steps onto the balcony and rings the Campana de Dolores, the actual bell Hidalgo rang in 1810, moved to the capital generations ago. The president calls out the names of the independence movement's heroes, and the crowd answers each one with a roar of "¡Viva!", building to three shouts of "¡Viva México!". Moments later, the national anthem swells to full volume while fireworks light up the square in celebration.
The party that follows runs until sunrise: street vendors selling tacos and elote, impromptu karaoke to Vicente Fernández, entire families still out when the city finally quiets.
Away from the Zócalo, the same ritual plays out in towns across the country. In smaller plazas across Mexico, mayors and consuls ring their own bells and lead a version of the Grito for crowds in the hundreds instead of the hundreds of thousands. Papel picado banners strung overhead, a folklórico troupe in full color, a table crowded with tamales, elote, and chiles en nogada, kids up on their fathers' shoulders trying to see over the crowd.
This same scene shows up across the U.S., especially in the cities where Mexican and Mexican-American communities run deep. San Antonio has held its own Diez y Seis celebration for more than 160 years. Houston's Fiestas Patrias tradition traces back to the 1960s and still fills downtown with a parade, mariachi, and a community-wide Grito of its own. Across Texas and the Midwest, September 15th and 16th mean flags in windows, backyard parties, always with someone's tío convinced his Grito is louder than the one on TV. The same holiday, celebrated by the same people, wherever they've ended up.
Hacienda Corralejo has stood on that ground in Guanajuato for over 270 years now, long enough to have grown the agave in every bottle on the same land where a priest once decided enough was enough. The spirit of independence never left the land.
So this September, whether you're in the Zócalo, at a backyard party in San Antonio, or watching the fireworks from your phone, pour a glass of Corralejo Reposado and raise it to the moment that actually started it all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is El Grito? El Grito, short for El Grito de Dolores, is the reenactment of the moment in 1810 when Father Miguel Hidalgo rang a church bell in Dolores, Guanajuato, and called for revolt against Spanish rule. Mexico's president repeats a version of that cry every September 15, and towns across Mexico and the U.S. hold their own version at the same hour.
When is Mexican Independence Day? September 16 is the official holiday, but the celebration begins the night before. El Grito happens just before midnight on September 15, timed to the hour Father Miguel Hidalgo rang his bell in 1810 in Dolores, Guanajuato.
Is Cinco de Mayo the same as Mexican Independence Day? No, they are different holidays. Cinco de Mayo marks a military victory over France on May 5, 1862. Mexican Independence Day marks the start of the war against Spanish rule in 1810, more than fifty years earlier. They're separate holidays commemorating separate events.
What does "¡Viva México!" mean during El Grito? It translates to "long live Mexico." The president shouts it three times at the end of the Grito, and the crowd answers each one, making it the loudest, most unified moment of the entire celebration.
