Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum led the official Cry of Independence ceremony on Tuesday night from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City’s Zócalo, commemorating the 216th anniversary of the start of Mexico’s independence movement before tens of thousands of attendees.

She received the Mexican flag from an escort composed solely of female cadets.

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Sheinbaum paid tribute to independence heroes Miguel Hidalgo, José María Morelos y Pavón, Vicente Guerrero and Leona Vicario. She also highlighted the dignity of the Mexican people and the rights of indigenous, Afro-descendant and migrant peoples.

216 Aniversario del Grito de Independencia https://t.co/rR2tbf1cNh

— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) September 16, 2026

The Cry of Independence commemorates the early hours of Sept. 16, 1810, when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bell in Dolores, Guanajuato, and called on the people to rise against Spanish colonial rule. Known as the Cry of Dolores, it launched Mexico’s War of Independence, which ended in 1821. The ceremony is reenacted annually on the night of Sept. 15 by Mexico’s president from the National Palace, followed by “¡Viva México!” and the ringing of the same bell Hidalgo used.

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