For 300 years, Mexico was commanded by Spanish rule. On this day, back in the year 1810, the Mexican revolution began. A Catholic priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang a church bell in the small town of Dolores, Mexico. The citizens gathered in the church and Hildago proclaimed the infamous ‘grito’ or shout to the citizens to revolt! Miguel Hidalgo called for freedom from oppression and the end of Spanish rule. Hundreds of citizens joined in his rebellion and thus began the Mexican War of Independence. ‘El Grito’ or the shout to the citizens is re-enacted each year by the president in Mexico City by ringing a bell and shouting  ¡Viva México!  to over half a million spectators.

To celebrate Mexican Independence Day, we had a party at school. 🙂

We ate tacos and tostadas, played games and listened to music. Most of the children dressed in costumes of various indigenous regions or as Mexican revolutionaries.

I organized my craft project and the kids LOVED making maracas!Everyone got a prize in the end as well. 🙂I also watched a few of my kids in a dance contest! 🙂 I don’t think they have a shy bone in their body. HAH.One of the teachers also organized a scavenger hunt. During the hunt, they had a find a foreigner and have them shout ¡Viva México! Guess who had to shout ¡Viva México! all day? This girl! HAH. 🙂After the party, I went with my co-workers for a traditional Mexican meal of pozole.Pozole is a broth based soup made of pork and white corn. The soup is topped with avocado, lettuce, onion, radish, salsa and lime. It is served with tortillas and pork skins.We went to a small restaurant in town that was packed with people, so we knew it had to be good. People were literally lined up along the wall with their own stock pots to be filled with the tasty soup.

We had a choice of green, red or white pozole. We each got one, so that we could try each others.The green is typically made with tomatillos, pumpkin seeds, jalapeño and epazote. The red is typically made with a combination of spicy peppers and the white is only broth with herbs.

I chose the red and added lots of toppings! Delicious!!After a yummy dinner, we all needed a nap. Many people went to the center of town to hear the grito, but it was raining and cold. We decided that watching it on the television in our pajamas was much better. 🙂

Today I headed back to Tequisquiapan. I wanted to find my cowboy friend and ride horses. 😀I met up with Israel and he took me on a 3-hour journey across the vast countryside toward the mountains.This was my horse Juguete. 😀 He was so sweet and very calm. He was also stopping to eat every time he spotted some alfalfa. Hah.The countryside was absolutely gorgeous! We spotted some wild horses on our trek.And a horse that was lollygagging in the road. 🙂Selfie on horseback. 😛After some time, Israel spotted a fruit. We stopped to give a try. It tasted like a kiwi.Israel was a very nice cowboy. He has a wife, two kids and a total of three horses. He is from the area and knows most of the people that live here. We stopped by his friend’s farm on our trek.He also doesn’t speak any English. I learned a lot of new horseback riding vocabulary today. 🙂

After trekking for a few hours, we ended up at a bull ranch. They breed and raise bulls here for bullfighting, which is popular in this region. We both agreed it was very sad. 😦The bull noises were enough to give anyone nightmares. Here is a segment I found that was the perfect replica. Yikes!

After a long day of riding, I am exhausted! My butt hurts, my back hurts and I have been walking a little funny all afternoon. Hah! Oh well, it was an amazing experience and I will sleep very well tonight. What a fantastic Independence Day celebration in Mexico. ¡Buenas noches y Viva México! 😀