Mexican Independence Day (September 15th and 16th) is just around the corner and there are many options for you and your family to enjoy this Mexican holiday with traditional music, food and games. Every year in September, all main squares in every town and city in Mexico are decorated with flags, flowers and lights of green, white and red. People sell confetti, horns and whistles and flags, with street vendors selling traditional Mexican antojitos.
Fiestas celebrating Mexico’s Independence take place on the night of the 15th and throughout the 16th and many clubs, restaurants and bars will have activities for each and every member of the family.
However, if big crowds are not your thing, you can just have some friends over and celebrate a Noche Mexicana at home. Tequila, tacos, guacamole, elote and other typical Mexican dishes and drinks are a must on a Noche Mexicana, but don’t feel overwhelmed: you can keep it casual and friendly.
Get together with your friends and family and ask them to wear traditional Mexican style clothing: there are literally hundreds of ideas on the web. Make it creative and full of Mexican details and colors.
You can set the ambiance with Mexican music and decoration. Rancheras, corridos can be easily found on Spotify and will set the mood for the fiesta. For decoration you can search for palm or charro hats, papers flags in green, white and red and maybe some zarapes or rebozos.
Cold beverages will make everyone’s delight: try some agua fresca for the kids by using tamarind, horchata and hibiscus extracts. You can easily find them in any supermarket. Pour some water and ice in a big pitcher, add the extract in the mix and pour some sugar! Tequila, mezcal and even an ice-cold Corona for the grown-ups are a must. If you’re afraid of overdoing it use these spirits in light cocktails, even pouring them in big pitchers so everyone can help themselves.
When it comes to food you have literally hundreds of options: you could get a catering service to provide a Mexican menu or maybe only entrees to keep it casual. Sopes, quesadillas, tacos and flautas will be a safe bet. Elotes (corn on the cob with chile, cream and lemon) are also an option, and you can serve them as esquites, which is essentially the same as the elote but with corn grains already picked. If you want something more elaborate, ask for some mole, chiles en nogada (we talk about this dish in our Wine & Dine section) and maybe espinazo, a stew with chile, corn flour balls and beef’s backbone. What about guacamole? Serve it as a botana, with tortilla chips and maybe some Enchiladas Potosinas. Make also some pico de gallo salsa, dicing and mixing some chile verde, onions and tomato.
If you are not in the mood for having people over you can call your favorite restaurant and ask for their Independence Day specials: most of them will have a preselected Mexican menu or buffet and will have live music and festive decorations, all the fun with none of the hassles!
Whatever you decide to do on Independence Day, just remember to stay safe, don’t overdo it with the tequila shots and have a great time. Viva México!
