Hidalgo Memorial and Independence Garden

The Independence Garden, dominated by the Church of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, was the place where, early on September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rallied his troops to begin the war against the colonial government, an uprising that became the beginning of Mexico’s independence movement. Hidalgo had arrived at the parish of Dolores in 1803, and his bronze statue there, inaugurated on September 16, 1891, was created by sculptor Miguel Noreña, a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City. The figure shows Hidalgo with one hand raised and holding the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which he took from the sanctuary of Atotonilco days after the uprising began. Golden eagles flank the statue, and the base bears the names of the battles fought by the Insurgent Army from the cry in Dolores to his death in Chihuahua. The garden is also the traditional setting for the annual night of September 15 ceremony of El Grito, attended by the President of the Republic or a personally appointed representative. It also contains a bald cypress planted to mark the centenary of the consummation of independence; this tree descends from the famed Tree of the Sad Night in Popotla, Mexico City, where tradition says Hernán Cortés wept on June 30, 1520, while fleeing Tenochtitlan pursued by Mexica troops.

Guanajuato · Mexico