[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 24039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    CELEBRATING EL GRITO DE DOLORES

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, next week, Idahoans of Hispanic and 
Latino heritage will be joining others in the United States and Mexico 
to celebrate the beginning of the decade-long battle to liberate Mexico 
from Spain almost 200 years ago. They gather to celebrate ``El Grito de 
Dolores,'' or ``The Cry from Dolores,'' issued by Father Miguel 
Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mondarte 
Villasenor, better known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest 
and revolutionary leader. Cura Hidalgo, although ethnically a criollo, 
or Mexican of Spanish or European descent, became sympathetic at a 
young age to the terrible plight of the Indians and mestizos--those of 
mixed ancestry--who had been subjugated by the Spanish for 300 years in 
Mexico. Hidalgo was an intellectual, well-versed in a number of 
languages and well-read. Some historians tell that his classmates 
called him ``el zorro,'' or ``the Fox.'' He was also known to be an 
entrepreneur and humanitarian. With the intention to better the plight 
of the indigenous people of his community, he taught them carpentry, 
harness-making, wool-weaving and blacksmithing and encouraged local 
artisans. He also cultivated vineyards and olive groves. In the early 
1800s, he became involved in a movement to overthrow the Spanish-led 
Government of Mexico, then called ``New Spain.'' Although led by a 
group of criollo intellectuals, the movement aimed to unify and 
energize the indigenous people and mestizos against their Spanish 
overlords. Due to a breach of intelligence, the conspirators were 
discovered, and Hidalgo gambled--and won.
  Hidalgo's call to independence was obviously not recorded, and 
historical accounts cannot agree on the words of his exact speech, but 
it is understood that early on the morning of September 16, 1810, Cura 
Hidalgo, instead of delivering mass, rang the church bell and delivered 
a call to arms that has come to be known as ``El Grito de Dolores,'' 
or, simply, ``El Grito.'' The armed Indians and mestizos, under the 
command of Hidalgo, fellow revolutionary Ignacio Allende and others, 
marched to the provincial capitol, Guanajunto, and, just 2 weeks after 
``El Grito,'' won a stunning battle with their now 20,000-strong army. 
Although Hidalgo was captured 9 months later and executed on July 30, 
1811, the storm that had been unleashed could not be stopped. Mexico 
successfully fought and won its independence from Spain in 1821.
  Idahoans and other Americans of Mexican descent have a proud heritage 
in this early freedom fighter. Much like the tradition of our American 
Founding Fathers, the seeds of revolution sprouted in the fertile soil 
of intellectual debate and a recognition of the inherent equality of 
all human beings regardless of race, gender or ethnicity. As people in 
Idaho and across the United States celebrate Mexico's independence and 
those young freedom fighters 200 years ago, parallels are strong with 
Mexican Americans today who are fighting to keep the United States free 
from terror here at home. How fitting, then, for the week of September 
11 that we also remember Hidalgo's ``El Grito!''

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