Celebrate Mexican Independence Day. �Feliz Diecis�is de Septiembre! �El Grito! �Viva Mexico! 16 de septiembre (September 16th) commemorates the start of the Mexican war for independence from Spain, which lasted for 10 years. On September 16, 1810, father don Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, one of a group of revolutionaries, rang the bell of his small church in the town of Dolores calling people to join in the fight for liberty. He cried out "El Grito" "Viva Mexico". Thus began the revolution. This is the moment that is reenacted in the plazas or "zocalos" of Mexico and celebrated by Mexicans across the globe.