Lots to Shout About: Mexican Patriotic Month
Tara A. Spears
Although only Monday, Sept 16, is a federal holiday with government office, bank, schools and many private business closings, the entire month recognizes a lot of firsts. Locally Friday, September 13, Dia los ninos heroes is observed with special parties and gifts to the children. In addition, Sunday, September 15, observes El Grito Dolores (Shout of Dolores which started the Mexican revolt in 1821;) and Monday, September 16, is the actual Grito de Independence. Many families have a four day weekend and come to celebrate at the beach. 
The Jaltemba Bay communities offer lots of fun family activities as the lead schedule of events indicate. Mexico celebrates its history with unique traditions and shows its pride with special dishes, music and dancing in the town square, fireworks, and lots of tequila shots and cold beer! Above all the festivities the Mexican flag waves in the breeze.
According to many historians the first Mexican flag in 1810 was a simple standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe carried by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary leader. By the 1821 Mexican War of Independence the rebels used a flag that bore the image of the Virgin and an insignia depicting a crowned eagle on a cactus over a three-arched bridge. The early flag also contained the three letters V.V.M. that was a message saying,” Long live Virgin Mary .” After gaining independence from Spain the unified Army used a flag featuring the red, green and white colors.
The Second Mexican Empire brought about the third official flag which kept the red, green and white stripes as background. This version added a national coat of arms with four eagles with crowns on their heads that were placed at the four corners of the flag.
The Mexican coat of arms owes its origins to an Aztec legend. According to the legend, the leader of a nomadic tribe was visited by a god named Huitzilopochtli in a dream. The leader was told by the god that the tribe would come across an eagle, perched on a cactus, devouring a snake. They were ordered to settle wherever they found this eagle. The tribe did so in 1325, despite the swampy conditions of the area. This land would become Tenochtitlan, which is now called Mexico City and is one of the largest cities in the world.
But by 1867, this flag was given up and the second national flag (center) which had the eagle perched on a rock in the middle of a lake. Today, the colors have their own meanings: The green stands for hope; white for purity; and the red stands for religion.
Throughout history, the Mexican flag has undergone changes in the coat of arms but the three colors have been retained through all the versions of the flag design. Each revision in the design of the Mexican flag was an attempt to make the flag even more representative of Mexican culture.
The present-day national Mexican flag is the fourth one in design, fluttering proudly as a classic insignia of Mexico. The Mexican coat of arms is a long-standing symbol of the country’s culture, legends, and politics.
The current Mexican coat of arms was designed in 1968 and remains a symbol of patriotism to this day. Because in addition to honoring the old legend, the Mexican coat of arms also represents triumph: the eagle, often believed to be a noble creature, defeating a treacherous snake. Mexicans take great pride in what the flag of Mexico and the Mexican coat of arms represent. It is truly a lasting symbol of Mexican culture. Viva Mexico!