San Miguel: The Forge of Mexican Independence

This year marks our 20th anniversary celebrating Mexican Independence here in San Miguel de Allende, since first discovering this incredible city back in 2006. I’ve always loved the rich history of this place, but with all the music, flags, parades and general craziness that fills San Miguel every September, it’s easy to forget—or maybe never really learn—why San Miguel is such an important part of Mexico’s story. So I decided to do a little digging into how our town became one of the sparks that helped ignite a revolution.

And there are some pretty amazing details.

In the early morning of September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo rang the church bell in nearby Dolores and called the people to rise up against Spanish rule. That famous Grito de Dolores began a struggle that would last more than a decade before Mexico finally achieved independence.

But here’s the interesting part: the revolution didn’t really begin that morning.

The groundwork had already been happening secretly throughout the region. Spain had controlled Mexico—then called New Spain—for nearly 300 years, and resentment was growing over who held political power, wealth and opportunity. Then Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, throwing the Spanish monarchy into chaos. Suddenly an idea that had seemed impossible started feeling possible: What if the people here governed themselves?

And right in the middle of those conversations was San Miguel el Grande—today’s San Miguel de Allende.

One of the principal organizers was Ignacio Allende, born right here in San Miguel in 1769. In fact, if you’re standing in the Jardín today, you’re only steps from the house where he was born.

Allende was a military officer and was actively helping organize the uprising before Hidalgo ever rang that bell. Another major insurgent, Juan Aldama, was also from San Miguel. Together with Hidalgo, Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez and others, they were secretly planning a revolt.

Then their conspiracy was discovered.

Instead of waiting around to be arrested, they decided to act. Hidalgo rang the bell, the rebellion began, and one of the first places the growing insurgent movement headed was San Miguel. Within days, our town went from secretly helping plan a revolution to becoming one of its first major centers.

There’s a wonderful phrase associated with San Miguel that I especially love: La Fragua de la Independencia — The Forge of Independence.

Obviously, as a metal guy, this speaks to me.

Think about what happens in a forge. You take raw material, add tremendous heat, pressure and force, and slowly something completely new begins to take shape. That’s a pretty great metaphor for what happened here. Ideas became conversations, conversations became conspiracy, conspiracy became action, and action eventually became a nation.

And the really cool part is that you can still follow that history today. Allende’s birthplace is right beside the Jardín. Dolores Hidalgo, where the Grito began, is just up the road. And only a few minutes outside San Miguel is Atotonilco, where Hidalgo took up an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe that became the famous banner and symbol of the insurgent movement.

We drive past these places all the time. Visitors wander by them on their way to lunch. But these are actual places where the story of Mexico changed.

That’s what makes celebrating Independence here so special.

So when the Grito rings out across San Miguel on the night of September 15 and thousands of people answer “¡Viva México!”, remember that you’re not just watching a celebration of something that happened somewhere else. You’re standing in one of the places where it all began.

Twenty years after first falling in love with this incredible city, I’m still discovering just how much history is sitting right underneath our feet.

San Miguel doesn’t simply celebrate Mexican Independence. San Miguel helped forge it.

¡Viva San Miguel! ¡Viva México! 🇲🇽