On the 215th anniversary of the start of Mexico’s Independence, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo led the “Grito de Independencia” ceremony, becoming the first woman in the country’s history to preside over this solemn act as Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
From the main balcony of the National Palace, before nearly 280,000 people gathered in Mexico City’s Zócalo, the president waved the national flag, which for the first time in history was delivered by an escort made up entirely of female military personnel from the Heroic Military College, led by Lieutenant Jennifer Samantha Torres Jiménez.
In her proclamation, Sheinbaum honored the heroes and heroines of the nation, highlighting figures such as Miguel Hidalgo, Josefa Ortiz, José María Morelos, Leona Vicario, Ignacio Allende, Gertrudis Bocanegra, Vicente Guerrero, and Manuela Molina “La Capitana.” She also paid tribute to anonymous heroines, Indigenous women, migrants, and the values of dignity, equality, democracy, and justice.
The president also resumed the tradition established by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, by mounting a Guard of Honor in the Gallery of Presidents. In an unprecedented act, she paid tribute in front of the portrait of Leona Vicario, the first woman whose painting was incorporated into this main gallery of the National Palace.
The celebration featured a fireworks display that lit up Constitution Square, along with musical performances by La Arrolladora Banda El Limón, Alejandra Ávalos, and Legado de Grandeza, marking a historic night filled with patriotic pride and the participation of Mexico’s first woman president.
