Mexican Independence Day in Vancouver 2008
Ever since I moved to Canada, I have rarely hung out with the Mexican community, not for lack of interest but simply because I am used to having an international, global friendship circle, and thus I don’t *just* hang out with any particular community. However, every year I get the same question and I figured I’d find out some scoop before I get asked “so do Mexicans celebrate the Independence Day while they are away?”. Last year I found some information (see my posts here and here) and this year, I remembered that “September is the month of the homeland”
The answer is yes, and many events are being organized in Vancouver. I used to attend the official “Grito de la Independencia” ceremony that the Mexican consulate organized, but lately these have become more social parties and less of a patriotic celebration, so I’ve stopped going since 2002. But that should not stop any of my readers! Here’s what I could find as far as scoop goes.
- The Mexican Consulate in Vancouver (who by the way entirely dissed my efforts to harness the power of my blog in helping victims of the floods in Tabasco last year) organized a “Mexico Week” from Sep 11th to 16th. They are calling it “Mexico Fest”. Sadly, even though they organized a lot of really fun individual events, I couldn’t make it to pretty much any. However, if you can make it to the following two, you should:
Tuesday, Sept 16 th “Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan” – 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Place: Orpheum Theatre
884 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC
Tickests: www.ticketmaster.caWednesday, Sept 17 th Tequila y Mezcal Tasting – 5:30 – 7:30PM
Place: Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant
More info: Veronica Tietzsch at vtietzsch@shaw.ca
1999 4th Avenue West, Vancouver, BC Vancouver, BC
By invitation [Mexico Fest Contacts Page]
There was even a Callejoneada on Granville Island last Saturday! (my parents live in the state of Guanajuato, whose capital Guanajuato is also the host to lots of Callejoneadas). Sometimes I do regret not being more involved with the Mexican community and the consulate, if for nothing else, because these events are really fun and more importantly, they showcase a Mexico that is different from all the negative press that it’s been getting lately, both in Canada and elsewhere in the world. Maybe next year I’ll be an official media sponsor.
The official dish for Mexican Independence Day is “chiles en nogada”, which my cousin prepared last Saturday (and my Mom prepares them every year). Here is a photo for your viewing pleasure.
Related posts:
- Mexican Independence Day 2010 – Celebrating a bicentennial anniversary
- Viva Mexico! Mexican Independence Day (worldwide and Vancouver)
- Mexican food restaurants in Vancouver: An updated post
- Mexican mainstream media sucks: The case of the Mexican divers
- Mexico’s Independence Day
There was a group of students all dressed up and singing all over campus today – sharing the festivities with anyone they happened across. What a nice thing to do!
[...] Mexican Independence Day in Vancouver 2008 9 hours ago [...]
Have you been to La Casita in Gastown?
Sooo delicious
Sounds like fun! I love Mariachi Bands!
I wish Gregg and I could go, but We are too busy these days.
Karin
Raul, I hope you plan to go see Mariachi Vargas tonight so you can share with everyone your thoughts about the concert. I produce concerts with Mariachi Vargas in Texas and I’m dying to know how the group is accepted in Canada and how many people turn out for the concert. Loved your blog. Hope to read about your review on Mariachi Vargas.