Diesiseis de Septiembre

Things I have learned about Mexican Independence Day (Deisiseis de Septiembre - 16th of September) while living in south Texas (Hidalgo county):
There are 17 verses to the Mexican National Anthem.
Truth:There are 10 verses, 2 of which are no longer sung because they refer to politically unpopular people.
The Mexican National Anthem was written by a Frenchman.
Truth:He was Mexican but his father was Spanish.
Also (no disrespect indented) every time that I have asked any Mexican friend of mine (including my wife) "Do you know every verse to the Mexican National Anthem?" the response has been universally the same - "Are you kidding ?!?"
Truth:I wrote this then went and asked my wife to see if she would sing it and she said "The whole thing?!?" (She still doesn't believe that it only has 10 verses :-)
A good friend of ours was born on this day.

While it can be argued that the American Revolution was fought because of "taxation without representation", the Mexican War for Independence (1810-1821) was fought over the right to own land. This should not be confused with the Mexican Revolution (1910 -1920) sometimes also called the Mexican Civil War.

Incidentally, Cinco de Mayo celebrates a Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla (1862) and has no direct connection to either Mexico's War for Independence or Revolution/Civil War.

It is interesting to note that 4 men (Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, Jose Maria Morelos and Miguel Hidalgo) are often pictured together as "Heroes of the Nation" even though they were not comtemporaries of each other (much like the North American Mount Rushmore, I suppose) . Miguel Hidalgo started the War for Independence with his Grito de Dolores, so he is considered the "Father of the Revolution" and the "Father of the Nation". This is also sort of a play on words because Miguel Hidalgo was a priest.

So I said to my (Mexican) wife, "Tell me something that I don't know about diesiseis de Septiembre". And she told me "Well, the Mexicans were fighting for their independence from Spain and the war lasted over 10 years." (Good grief - somehow I never got that factoid before)

My wife's grandmother was born during the Mexican Revolution, however records are sketchy as to the exact year of her birth. She passed away in 1999.

On one other fun note, these guys tried to start another revolution in Mexico Jan 1, 1994. Shooting stopped on Jan 12, 1994 but the group remains active. And, if things "happen in threes" and the cycle remains the same, then Mexico is scheduled for a revolution in 2010. (yikes!)