Marking Mexican Independence Day

For the fifth year in a row, Sonoma’s Nuestra Voz pulled out all the stops in creating a Mexican Independence Day celebration on the Plaza.

The day honors “Grito de Dolores” (Cry of Dolores), also known as “El Grito de la Independencia” (Cry of Independence), which was uttered by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla from the small town of Dolores, near Guanajuato, on Sept. 16, 1810. It was the moment that launched the the Mexican War of Independence. Since October 1825, the anniversary of the event is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day.

Here in Sonoma, the day-long event included multiple colorful performances from Quetzalen, Sonoma’s Mexican Ballet Folklórico, along with horse-back riders, lasso demonstrations and plenty of authentic Mexican food. Locla dignitaries spoke at the beginning of the event, before a day-long festival.

Nuestra Voz of Sonoma is a nonprofit organization with programs serving the Sonoma Valley community for 13 years. Programs center on providing healthy activities for the community, including aerobics and martial arts classes, competitive and recreational soccer, traditional ethnic arts classes, scholarships, education on healthy food choices and a new community food garden.

For further information, contact Nuestra Voz at 939-9369.