MEXICO · INDEPENDENCE DAY

Mexico’s national day is 16 September, not 5 May, and the celebration starts the night before with the Grito.

When is Mexican Independence Day? It is 16 September, and the celebrations begin late on 15 September with the Grito, a cry first raised in 1810.

It is not Cinco de Mayo, which marks an 1862 battle and is not a statutory day off in Mexico.

When Is Mexican Independence Day, and Why 16 September

Mexico’s flag law lists 16 September as the anniversary of the start of Mexican independence in 1810. The Federal Labour Law makes the same date a mandatory paid day off in its Article 74.

Banco de México, the central bank, says Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla raised the Grito de Dolores on 16 September 1810. That cry started the independence movement, which is why Mexicans call Hidalgo the Father of the Nation.

Hidalgo, a Catholic priest, used the bell of Dolores, a town in today’s Guanajuato state, to call people together. The town is now officially Dolores Hidalgo, Cuna de la Independencia Nacional, the cradle of national independence.

The war lasted 11 years, and the flag law marks 27 September 1821 as the day independence was completed. José María Morelos took over the insurgent struggle after Hidalgo’s death, Banco de México notes.

Both September dates are civic anniversaries, but only 16 September is a national day off.

The parish church on the main square of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, the town where the 1810 uprising began, pictured in 2019. Photo: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What Happens at the Grito on 15 September

The Grito is the night-time re-enactment of Hidalgo’s call. Mexico’s flag law lists 15 September as the commemoration of the Grito de Independencia, separate from the 16 September anniversary.

The same law requires the president to wear the presidential sash at the Grito on the night of 15 September. It is one of only four occasions on which the sash is mandatory.

In Mexico City, the president leads the ceremony from a balcony of the National Palace, the seat of government. In 2026, Sheinbaum stepped onto its central balcony at 11 p.m. before a packed Zócalo, the capital’s main square, Excélsior reported.

By tradition, the president names heroes of independence and the crowd answers each name with a shout of viva. The cry ends with Viva México, followed by fireworks over the square.

State governments and town halls stage their own ceremonies on the same night. The law fixes the date but not the hour, so start times are announced locally each year.

A bronze bell in a carved stone niche above the central balcony of Mexico City’s National Palace, pictured in November 2024. Photo: EneasMx / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Where Mexico Celebrates, From Mexico City to Dolores Hidalgo

Mexico City hosts the national ceremony on the night of 15 September. On the morning of 16 September, the armed forces traditionally parade through the centre of the capital.

Presidency photographs from 16 September 2015 show troops and armoured vehicles lined up across the Zócalo for that year’s parade. Expansión listed the 2026 civic-military parade for Wednesday, 16 September.

In Dolores Hidalgo, where the uprising began, the town’s parish church stands on the main square. Nearby San Miguel de Allende carries the name of Ignacio Allende, a rebel leader born in 1769.

State capitals hold their own ceremonies. Rio Times listings for 2026 included a Grito in Mérida’s Plaza Grande and a free concert in central Guadalajara on 15 September.

Under the flag law, Mexico’s embassies and consulates abroad raise the flag at full mast on 15 and 16 September. Check your nearest consulate’s announcements for public events in the United States.

Troops and vehicles fill the Zócalo for the Independence Day military parade in Mexico City on 16 September 2015. Photo: Presidencia de la República Mexicana / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Why 5 May Is a Different Holiday

Cinco de Mayo, 5 May, marks the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at Puebla in 1862, the flag law says. That battle came more than 40 years after independence.

It is a civic anniversary in Mexico but is not a mandatory day off under Article 74 of the Federal Labour Law. The US Embassy and consulates did close on Tuesday, 5 May 2026, listing it as the Battle of Puebla.

So 16 September is the national holiday, 15 September is the night of the Grito and 5 May is a battle anniversary.

Key Dates in Mexico’s Independence Story

Mexico’s flag law doubles as a calendar of the independence story. Public buildings fly the flag at full mast on the birth and event dates, and at half mast on the death anniversaries.

• 8 May 1753: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla is born; the law calls him the initiator of Mexican independence.
• 21 January 1769: Ignacio Allende, a rebel leader, is born.
• 19 April 1773: Josefa Ortiz, a heroine of independence honoured on the same calendar, is born.
• 16 September 1810: Hidalgo raises the Grito de Dolores and the independence movement begins.
• 30 July 1811: Hidalgo dies, and José María Morelos carries on the insurgency.
• 6 November 1813: the first Congress of Anáhuac, meeting in Chilpancingo, approves a solemn declaration of independence.
• 22 December 1815: Morelos dies.
• 27 September 1821: independence is consummated, 11 years after the Grito.
• 5 May 1862: Mexican forces defeat the French army at Puebla, the origin of Cinco de Mayo.

The sequence explains the confusion. Mexico celebrates the start of the uprising on 16 September, while 5 May belongs to a later war against France.

Mexican Independence Day Dates for 2027 and 2028

• 2027: the Grito on Wednesday, 15 September 2027; the holiday on Thursday, 16 September 2027.
• 2028: the Grito on Friday, 15 September 2028; the holiday on Saturday, 16 September 2028.
• Consummation of independence, a civic date but not a day off: Monday, 27 September 2027.

Because the law fixes the holiday to 16 September, it does not move to a Monday, unlike three other national holidays. In 2027 it falls on a Thursday, and 15 September remains a normal working day.

Employees who work on 16 September are owed double pay on top of their regular wage, under Article 75. That matters to anyone who employs household staff in Mexico.

How to Celebrate as a Visitor

To see a Grito in person, book a hotel near a main square early. Arrive well before the ceremony to find a spot.

As a mandatory rest day, 16 September closes many offices and businesses. The Rio Times Independence Day expat playbook covers banks, exchange-rate fixing and parade routes.

In Puebla and central Mexico, chiles en nogada are traditionally eaten from July to September, UnoTV reports. The stuffed poblano chile is topped with walnut sauce, pomegranate and parsley, the colours of the flag.

For restaurants, see the Rio Times guide on where to eat chiles en nogada in Querétaro.

For how the 2026 night unfolded, read El Grito 2026 Mexico City Recap and 2027 Guide. Follow the Rio Times Mexico coverage for the 2027 programme.

What It Means for US Readers

Plan mid-September trips around a national holiday. The US Embassy and consulates in Mexico close on 16 September, as they did on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.

The US State Department rates Mexico Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, citing terrorism, crime and kidnapping, with higher risk in some areas. It grades each state separately, so check Guanajuato before a trip to Dolores Hidalgo.

Mexico City keeps Central Standard Time all year, because only the northern border uses seasonal time under Mexico’s time-zone law. In September that puts the capital two hours behind New York.

The green 200-peso note, worth about US$11 at open.er-api.com’s rate of 7 October 2026, shows Hidalgo and the Dolores bell. It is a pocket-sized version of the story.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, a platform where traders bet real money on events, asks whether President Claudia Sheinbaum will be out by 31 December 2026. Yes traded at about 3% on 7 October at 7:39 a.m. ET, on volume of about US$35,000.

Sheinbaum has been Mexico’s president since October 2024 and leads the national Grito. See Who Is Claudia Sheinbaum? for her profile; no market prices who will lead the 2027 ceremony.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What Is Not Known

The 2027 programme in Mexico City, including performers, start times and road closures, has not been announced. Security arrangements and any limits on alcohol sales are set locally each year.

The exact hour of the presidential Grito is not fixed in law and can vary from year to year.

Whether Sheinbaum leads the 2027 Grito depends on her staying in office. The market above covers only the period to 31 December 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mexican Independence Day on September 15 or 16?

Independence Day is 16 September, the statutory holiday. The Grito, the main ceremony, takes place on the night of 15 September.

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico’s Independence Day?

No. Cinco de Mayo marks the 1862 victory over French forces at Puebla, while the independence movement began on 16 September 1810.

What is the Grito de Dolores?

It is the cry Miguel Hidalgo raised in Dolores on 16 September 1810 to start the independence movement. Mexico re-enacts it every year on the night of 15 September.

Is 16 September a day off in Mexico?

Yes. Article 74 of the Federal Labour Law makes it a mandatory paid day off, and staff who work it earn double pay.

When is Mexican Independence Day in 2027?

The holiday falls on Thursday, 16 September 2027. The Grito takes place on the night of Wednesday, 15 September 2027.

Where can visitors see the Grito?

The national ceremony is in Mexico City’s Zócalo, led by the president. State capitals and towns such as Dolores Hidalgo, where the uprising began, hold their own.

Sources: Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacionales (arts. 15, 18, 35); Ley Federal del Trabajo (arts. 74, 75); Ley de los Husos Horarios; Banco de México, 200-peso note; Municipality of Dolores Hidalgo; Chamber of Deputies, Gaceta Parlamentaria, 1 September 2026; US Embassy and Consulates in Mexico, 2026 holidays; US State Department, Mexico Travel Advisory; Municipality of San Miguel de Allende, town history; Excélsior, 15 September 2026; Expansión Política, 15 September 2026; El Universal, Grito de Dolores; UnoTV, chiles en nogada season 2026; Presidencia de la República, parade photograph, 2015; open.er-api.com exchange rates; Polymarket market data via its public API (no link) (all accessed 7 October 2026).