El Grito de Diez y Seis de Septiembre
Once again we celebrate the ultimate importance of this day in our history as a race. We are celebrating the truth of our ancestors who has made it possible for us to express to this world who we truly are and the reasons why freedom and justice continue to be a part of our lives.
It is written and told that Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, during the early morning of September 16, rang church bells and called on our indigenous ancestors of Dolores to rise from oppression, darkness, hunger, and injustice to proclaim to the world the independence of their nation. Sacred destinies from past writings constantly reveal that we as Mexicans, Hispanics, and Latinos would continue to rise until freedom and justice would become a part of our daily lives.
Within a period of months, Hidalgo’s people had swelled to 100,000 strong – the largest army raised since the Aztecs (Mexicas), our ancient ancestors who made possible this uprising with hoes, machetes, clubs, outrage, faith, and a most spiritual desire for liberation that no one in the world would take again. In reality it is called the love of liberation.
It is historically written in ancient writings that we as a people and race would continue to rise and take back our God-given freedom and justice. On October 12, shortly after September 16, the battle was joined at Las Cruces, against the strong forces of the Spanish government. The entire world became aware that our people had risen from the ashes of injustice, slavery, oppression, and imprisonment, demanding the return of their land. Hidalgo, announcing for seven months the time to rise, was captured in Chihuaua. He was shot and decapitated by the Spanish government.
Here I remain confined in oppressive prisons maintaining the honor, valor, and courage to share that our history has just begun. Throughout the Southwest we seek political and spiritual power like never before. We witness the confinement and oppression of our sisters and brothers, concluding, as written in our ancient writings, that we would return to our promised land and share “El Grito de Dolores” from our hearts.
It is written that as we seek freedom and justice, the power of our spirituality will be present unlike before in the 21st century. This spiritual power is the rebirth of our search for God-given human rights and land.
Know who you are and what people before you died for. Always remember that our history is far from becoming a thing of the past. It is more alive, more contentious, and demanding than ever. A famous late Hispanic professor once stated, “A living present time cannot exist if the past is dead. Our history is the past, and very much alive in the present.”
In exile,
Ramsey Muniz – Tezcatlipoca
www.freeramsey.com
Texas Civil Rights Review 