Posts
In any case, TODAY [a dark, damp, misty day hung about with storms] is absolutely infested with commemorations, some horrid & brutal, some festive, all remarkable.
Today marks the Bicentennial of Mexico's independence from Spain. 'twas on this night in 1810 that Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called for rebellion, called for Mexicans to rise up against their Spanish overlords. The padre's 'Grito de Dolores' [Cry of Dolores] : "My children: a new dispensation comes to us today. Will you receive it? Will you free yourselves? Will you recover the lands stolen by three hundred years ago from your forefathers by the hated Spaniards? We must act at once… Will you defend your religion and your rights as true patriots? Long live our Lady of Guadalupe! Death to bad government!" The priest? Captured & executed in 1911. Mexican self-rule? Still a work in progress, as is ours.
“Poor Mexico: So Far From God, And So Close to the United States” José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori, b. 15 Sept. 1830. President of Mexico, 1884-1911
It's the birthday of U.S. President Wm. Howard "Big Bill" Taft [1857] and author Jas. Fenimore Cooper, too [1789].
Oh, and it was on this day in 1963, that some cruel bozos, convinced as all terrorists are, that they were doing a good thing, bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young ladies, who'd dressed themselves that morning in their Sunday best, were killed forever, had stolen from them all that might have done and experienced: Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14).
s i g h
Que viva centroamerica, too! (Today is also the 189th anniversary of Central American independence from Spain.)
ReplyDeleteLike most independences(?) during this time, it was more of a transfer from a far away landed elite to an in-house landed elite, but it is still a grand celebration throughout the region!
[And thank you so much for the reminder about 16th Street Baptist. What a mix of celebrations/commemorations. Like all days, I suppose.]