Jose
2010-08-04 23:27:56 UTC
Dallas Morning News - 01/08/2010
MORELIA, Mexico – On Sept. 16, it'll be 200 years since Miguel Hidalgo
y Costilla, a most unusual priest, suggested in his stormy call to
action that Mexicans rid themselves of the ruling Spanish by any
means.
We have the Fourth of July. Mexico has Diez y Seis de Septiembre.
For those of us without an emotional connection to 1810, the
bicentennial is an excuse to get down into Hidalgo country. Even now.
(We know what you're thinking – we read the other sections of this
newspaper – and we'll get to that.)Hidalgo didn't live long enough to
see what his insurrection wrought. He was shot and beheaded less than
a year into the fight. His successor, Jose Maria Morelos, another
priest and Hidalgo's former student, kept his head but died by firing
squad a few years later. It was 1821 – 11 years after Hidalgo stirred
things up – before there was an independent Mexico.
The cities and towns that were part of Hidalgo's world are, today,
fascinating places to visit. The historic centers of five of them are
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/080110dntramexbicen.468180f.html
MORELIA, Mexico – On Sept. 16, it'll be 200 years since Miguel Hidalgo
y Costilla, a most unusual priest, suggested in his stormy call to
action that Mexicans rid themselves of the ruling Spanish by any
means.
We have the Fourth of July. Mexico has Diez y Seis de Septiembre.
For those of us without an emotional connection to 1810, the
bicentennial is an excuse to get down into Hidalgo country. Even now.
(We know what you're thinking – we read the other sections of this
newspaper – and we'll get to that.)Hidalgo didn't live long enough to
see what his insurrection wrought. He was shot and beheaded less than
a year into the fight. His successor, Jose Maria Morelos, another
priest and Hidalgo's former student, kept his head but died by firing
squad a few years later. It was 1821 – 11 years after Hidalgo stirred
things up – before there was an independent Mexico.
The cities and towns that were part of Hidalgo's world are, today,
fascinating places to visit. The historic centers of five of them are
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/080110dntramexbicen.468180f.html