Mexican flags and candy adorned the Copley Plaza in front of The Old Globe on Saturday as a crowd joined dignitaries in celebrating the 215th Mexican Independence Day.
The day included folklorico dance performances from DanzArts and live music from Mariachi Continental SD. Women in brightly colored dresses danced in shoes that loudly clicked across the floor. In another performance, children wore long floral dresses and red lipstick, their hair in buns.
The event was staged in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in San Diego, and Ambassador Alicia Kerber, consul general of Mexico, led the “El Grito” near the end of the day.
The El Grito de Independencia commemorates the speech that marks the beginning of the Mexican independence movement. The Grito de Dolores was the battle cry from Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, parish priest of Dolores, on Sept. 16, 1810, according to Brittanica.
After years of fighting, on Aug. 24, 1821, the appointed Spanish captain general signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which ended New Spain’s dependence on Old Spain and renamed the nation the Mexican Empire.
“It established our freedom and what our heroes that fought for our freedom kind of left behind on all of us,” said Valeria Vega, family and cross-cultural program manager at The Old Globe.
The Mexican Consulate did not hold its own Mexican independence event this year due to fears around immigration enforcement.
Dancers from the group DanzArts performing during the Mexican Independence celebration at the Old Globe Plaza. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Patricia Astorga, the artistic director and founder of DanzArts, said that people who were not Mexican could come to the celebration and see the culture and the dance styles of different regions of Mexico.
“They can see, oh, everything is not the same, it’s different,” she said.
Maricruz Alvarado was selling her hand-made art, including crochet necklaces and pouches, from a stall. That included “miracles,” pieces of fabric decorated with stitching, some with beads, sequins or charms. She explained they could be used to promise prayer for a saint and then left at the saint’s altar.
Alvarado lived in Mexico until she was 16.
“You live wherever, but your roots are always there,” she said.
Alvarado said that, to her, the holiday means being free. “Freedom is everything,” she said.
On tables set up in the plaza were candies from Mexico, as well as flags, small hats and boards for Loteria, a game similar to bingo.
Viri Elizarraras, who was born in Mexico and soon moved to San Diego, said it was important that her two young children understood their culture. Her kids were at the celebration with flags and traditional Mexican shirts.
“Just trying to teach them about our culture and enjoying this beautiful day,” she said. “The colors, the national anthem, just everything.”
Marcos Garcia shows off his fancy lasso work during the Mexican Independence celebration held at the Old Globe Plaza in Balboa Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Originally Published: September 13, 2025 at 5:22 PM PDT