Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Maintain our culture’: Latino communities celebrate ‘El Grito’ in Las Vegas

Mexican Independance Day at The Forum Shops

Christopher DeVargas

The Forum Shops kicks off the Mexican Independence Day celebration, Friday Sept. 15, 2017.

Mexican Independance Day at The Forum Shops

Lupita Wence with the Mexico Vivo Dance Company performs during the official El Grito ceremony to kick off the the Mexican Independence Day festivities at The Forum Shops at Caesars Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

The first Mexican Independence Day event of its kind just may have been the largest draw for Las Vegas’ celebration of “El Grito” in recent memory.

Flags of Mexico, the United States and other Central American countries, like Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, also celebrating the anniversary of their nations’ independence this weekend, were held high as Mariachi and traditional folkloric dance groups took turns performing for a crowd of about 1,000 celebrants Friday night at Texas Station’s first rendition of the event.

“It’s important we maintain our culture and celebrate our nation’s independence,” said event emcee Patricia Guerrero between performances of folkloric groups from Mexico. “Not just for ourselves but for our children and the generations that follow.”

Mexico’s Independence Day is celebrated on Sept. 16, when, in 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led a rebellion against ruling class imperialists from Spain in the small city of Dolores, Guanajuato.

In Mexico, celebrants convene annually before midnight in their town’s main squares, where town leaders repeat Father Hidalgo’s shout for freedom. At sunrise, military and civic parades begin a day of celebration with fireworks, food and music.

The Las Vegas edition kicked off with nearly an hour’s worth of traditional music and dancing from groups based in Las Vegas, the United States and Mexico. As the strings, trumpets, singing and dancing came to a gradual stop, Mexican Consul Alejandro Madrigal took the stage.

“Mexicans! Long live the heroes who gave us our homeland,” Madrigal bellowed in Spanish as the symbolic independence bell rang.

After shouting the names of revolutionaries Hidalgo, Morelos, Allende, Aldama and Matamoros, Madrigal ended with “Long live Las Vegas,” and “the independence of our nation,” in Spanish as the crowd responded with shouts of “Viva,” Spanish for “long live.”

Las Vegas-based dance company Senyelistli Azteca brought about 25 such performers to entertain the shouting crowd at Texas Station — they hailed from as far as Mexico City and the southern state of Guerrero to celebrate their nation’s holiday in Las Vegas.

Senyelistli Azteca performer and Cheyenne High School junior Alejandro Santa Maria, 16, said the day represents an “emotional sense of pride.” Dressed in a black sombrero and an all-black uniform with white streaks, a red scarf and red waist band.

“This is a beautiful day for many people who live and work here,” Santa Maria said.

The scene also featured over two dozen booths occupied by food and drink vendors, radio stations and immigration service attorneys. Nearby, there was a host of carnival rides and games.

On the Strip, a crowd of nearly 300 packed into a small section of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, chanting the name of the U.S. neighbors to the south in anticipation of Mexican Deputy Consul General Jeremías Guzmán’s performance of the shout.

“I think we picked the right place this year,” Veracruz native and first-time Las Vegas visitor Berta Martinez said, standing with her daughter Mariana as chants of “Mexico, Mexico” rang out from spectators on three stories of the Forum Shops with a view of the celebration.

Both Las Vegas ceremonies on Friday took a full minute of silence to honor the lives lost in recent natural disasters in both Mexico and the United States. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have combined to kill nearly 200 people in the southern United States, displace hundreds of thousands more, and leave behind billions of dollars in damage.

An 8.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 7 earthquake near Oaxaca, Mexico, resulted in the death of over 100 residents of the area and also displaced thousands of people.