September 11, 2009, Forging a new nation in San Miguel, By Jesús Ibarra

On September 16, Mexico celebrates the 199th anniversary of the beginning of the war of independence against Spain.

Although the nearby city of Dolores Hidalgo is known as the “Cradle of Independence” (Cuna de la Independencia Nacional), it was in San Miguel that the first winds of revolution and independence began to blow. For this reason, San Miguel is referred to as the “Forge of National Independence” (Fragua de la Independencia Nacional).

Rebellion in San Miguel

At the time of the insurrection, San Miguel el Grande, as the city was then named, was governed by a council composed of Don Juan de Umarán and Justo Baca, criollos born in Mexico but of Spanish blood, and Don Francisco José de Landeta and Don Domingo de Berrio, both Spanish. The mayor, Ignacio Aldama (not to be confused with his brother, Captain Juan Aldama), was a criollo. The Spanish delegate was Don Pedro Jiménez de Ocón. The city hall was located in the former presidencia building across from the Jardín.

As with most uprisings, several factors fueled the conspirators’ zeal, among them the Spaniards’ abuse of indigenous peoples, Napoleon’s invasion of Spain and news of a prior conspiracy in Valladolid (today, Morelia). Ignacio Allende, the brothers Ignacio and Juan Aldama, and Umarán and Baca began meeting in the house of Allende’s brother, under the guise of attending dances and parties, to plan a revolt against the Spanish government.

It was the most important and largely attended meeting in the area, with about 70 participants, including soldiers, priests and ordinary citizens. Several other groups of conspirators in nearby cities such as Querétaro were in contact with them, including Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, wife of the chief magistrate of Querétaro and a key player in the rebellion.

Felipe González, one of the San Miguel conspirators and Allende’s personal friend, suggested that “a priest with light, probity and reputation should be invited to guide the movement so that the liberty project would not be considered irreligious and illicit.” It was in the San Miguel meeting that the decision was made to ask Father Miguel Hidalgo to be the visible head of the independence movement, and Allende invited him personally.

Discovery spurs rebels to action

When the cell of conspirators in Querétaro was discovered, Ortiz de Domínguez sent word to Hidalgo and Allende that they could be arrested at any moment. Both decided late in the evening of September 15 to begin the revolt.

Early in the morning on Sunday, September 16, Hidalgo rang the bells of the parroquia of Dolores, enjoining the crowd that gathered on the plaza to take up arms against the unjust Spanish government.

Headed by Hidalgo, Allende and Juan Aldama, the insurgents left Dolores for San Miguel. En route they stopped at Atotonilco, where Hidalgo affixed an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe to a lance, and under this banner the rag-tag army, mostly Indians armed with machetes, shovels and sticks, continued their march to San Miguel.

The insurgents reached San Miguel at sunset, making their way up what is now calle Canal to the city hall, where the Spanish councilors, Berrio and Landeta, along with other Spanish residents, had barricaded themselves.

Allende demanded that the Spanish surrender; they refused, saying they would only surrender to Colonel de la Canal, the military authority. The Colonel at last convinced them that all was lost and they could trust Allende to spare their lives.

The local Spaniards, along with others the rebels had brought from Dolores bound in ropes, were held prisoner in the San Francisco de Sales College. In the streets, a mob sacked stores owned by councilor Landeta and Pedro de Lámbarri; Allende eventually halted the pillage and returned to his home.

At 4pm on September 17, the first independent city council was appointed, headed by Ignacio Aldama and including the priest Manuel Castilblanque, Felipe González, Miguel Vallejo, Domingo Unzaga and Vicente Umarán. After organizing an army of only 200 soldiers and 6,000 Indians, the insurgents left San Miguel el Grande on Wednesday, September 18, never to return to the city where independence was forged.

After taking San Miguel, the insurgents continued their campaign, fighting several battles in Guanajuato, Valladolid (Morelia), Mexico City, Guadalajara, Zacatecas, Saltillo, and, finally, in Acatita de Baján, Chihuahua, where Allende, Hidalgo and Juan Aldama were captured and executed. Their heads were displayed in iron cages hung from the Alhóndiga de Granaditas (granary) in Guanajuato, along with the head of Mariano Jiménez.

Buildings with histories tied to independence

Casa de Allende cnr Umarán & Cuna de Allende

Don Domingo de Allende y Ayerdi built the Allende family home between 1760 and 1762. Independence hero Ignacio Allende was born there. The Spanish crown confiscated it after the independence uprising. In 1919, Don José María Vega, a pharmacist, opened a drugstore on the ground floor, and it remained in the Vega family until 1979, when the last of the siblings, Guadalupe Vega, died. The heirs sold the property to the local government and it was converted into the city museum. It has recently been renovated and was reinaugurated by President Calderón on April 4, 2009.

Las Casas Reales (The Royal Houses, former presidencia building)

Across from the Jardín

Las Casas Reales was where the city council met before the uprising. Several Spanish residents locked themselves in the building to protect themselves from mobs of insurgents. This was the site of the first insurgent city council and housed the Presidencia Municipal until 2007, when the administration moved to the new building on Salida a Querétaro. Currently, the building is used only for city council sessions.

Aldama house
Calle San Francisco 5

Brothers Ignacio, Prudencio and Juan Aldama were born here, between 1765 and 1775. The Spanish crown confiscated the property after the independence uprising, and the imprisoned Aldama brothers were executed. The abandoned property was sold in the 1960s to a movie company and became the town’s local cinema until the 1980s, when it was again abandoned. The large auditorium is currently owned by the real estate company Coates/Dolan Development.

The home of the de la Canal family was built between 1720 and 1730 by Don Manuel Tomás de la Canal, grandfather of Colonel Narciso María Loreto de la Canal and also the patron of the Virgin de Loreto chapel. It was bought in the 1920s by Don Albino García and currently belongs to Banamex bank.

Symbols of independence may return home

Two historic flags borne by the insurgent army at the beginning of the War of Independence in San Miguel will probably be returned to Mexico from Spain. Negotiations are in

progress between the Spanish and Mexican governments to exchange the flags, currently in the Army Museum (Museo del Ejército) at the Alcazar of Toledo, for two Spanish flags, currently in the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, that belonged to Spanish soldier Isidro Barradas, who tried to reconquer Mexico in 1829.

The “two flags are made of sky-blue taffeta with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the front and the image of Saint Michael Archangel, the imperial eagle and several other symbols and markings on the back. These flags were the first ones with which the rebels began the revolt in the villa of San Miguel el Grande and were seized in the battle of Calderón on January 17, 1811.” The flags were sent to Spain by Félix María Calleja, a brigadier in the Spanish army and later a viceroy, among other items seized by the Spanish from the rebels.