The Hijas de Maria, or Daughters of Maria, dancers perform during the Mexican Heritage Celebration in Gridley.

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Song, dance and patriotic fanfare filled Daddow Park during the fifth annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration, on Saturday, Sept. 12.

The event, commemorating Mexican Independence Day, was brought to the community by the First 5 Center at Esperanza House in partnership with Northern Valley Catholic Social Services.

Ana Camacho, program supervisor for the NVCSS Promotores Outreach division, thanked everyone for their attention and introduced Gridley City Councilman Angel Calderon to give the Cry of Independence, or “El Grito.”

A young man delivers El Grito, or the Cry of Independence, during Gridley’s Mexican Heritage Celebration at Daddow Park on Sept. 12.

“We are gathered here to celebrate and commemorate the most significant date in the history of Mexico’s independence,” Calderon said. “In the early hours of September 16, 1810, the people rose up. The priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called on the people to rise up and fight for freedom. That moment, known as the El Grito, marked the beginning of the struggle that would forever transform Mexico.”

Calderon added that brave men and women devoted their efforts, their dreams and in many cases their lives for a free Mexico before explaining that the “El Grito,” is traditionally given the night of Sept. 15 in honor of the of the struggle that would result in Mexico’s independence.

Flanked by Camacho and dancers from Hijas de Maria, Calderon explained that Mexico’s national anthem was written in response to nationalism and the various invasions Mexico suffered.

Dancers place their hands over their hearts during the playing of Mexico’s national anthem at the Mexican Heritage Celebration in Daddow Park on Sept. 12.

Mexico’s national anthem, “Himno Nacional Mexicano,” penned by poet Francisco González Bocanegra, was played as people young and old stood with their right hands in a salute across their hearts.

Calderon then led the crowd in a recitation of the El Grito, calling out (in English), “Long live Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla! Long live José María Morelos y Pavón! Long live José Bautista Domínguez! Long live Ignacio Allende! Long live Leona Vicario and all the people who gave their blood for freedom!”

The Hijas de Maria dancers then entertained the crowd gathered at the park with a variety of dances celebrating the history of Mexico’s struggle for independence and its eventual success.

Gridley City Councilman Angel Calderon shares the history of Mexico’s struggle for independence during the Mexican Heritage Celebration at Daddow Park on Sept. 12.

The freedom to celebrate and remember the sacrifices of cultural heroes in the United States means a great deal to those born locally and to those that call Gridley their home.

“I believe celebrating Mexican Independence Day here in our community is a beautiful way to honor our roots, our history and the traditions that connect generations,” said Lucia Chavez, co organizer for Hijas de Maria and associated with the First 5 Center at Esperanza House. “It is a reminder that culture brings people together and that whether we were born here or elsewhere, we all have a place celebrating the diversity and richness that makes our community stronger.”

Dancers wearing bandoliers perform during the Mexican Heritage Celebration at Daddow Park on Sept. 12.