By Harry Nara · Last updated
- El Grito, from the National Palace balcony, late eveningWednesday 15 September 2027
- Independence Day military paradeThursday 16 September 2027
- Where
- Plaza de la Constitución, the Zócalo
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- September
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
Fixed by law: the cry is given late on the evening of 15 September and the military parade follows on the morning of 16 September. Neither moves. The Zócalo is closed to traffic for several days on either side, and the square itself is cleared and searched before the evening.
This is participation rather than spectating. The president appears on the National Palace balcony late in the evening, calls the names of the independence leaders, rings the bell that hangs above the door, and the square answers each line. Get there hours early, expect an enormous crowd, and shout.
What El Grito actually is
A re-enactment of the call to arms given by a parish priest in the town of Dolores at the start of the independence war, repeated every year by the president from the National Palace, and by state governors and mayors in every plaza in the country at the same hour.
The bell above the balcony is the one from Dolores, brought to the capital in the nineteenth century. It is rung at the start and again at the end.
The next morning brings the military parade, which crosses the square and runs along the main avenues. It is a separate event with an entirely different character: formal, daylit and far easier to watch from the edges.
Where to watch El Grito
- Inside the Zócalo, if you want the real thing. It fills from the afternoon and the security cordon closes well before the evening, so arriving late means not getting in at all.
- Madero and the streets feeding the square. They carry the overflow and the screens, and they are far easier to leave afterwards.
- A balcony on the square. Hotels and restaurants around it sell packages for the evening. They are the only paid vantage points and they are the comfortable answer.
- Your nearest neighbourhood plaza. Every borough holds its own version at the same hour, led by the local mayor. Coyoacán is the best known and it is a fraction of the scale.
- Paseo de la Reforma, for the parade the next morning. The route runs about eight kilometres from the Zócalo out to Campo Marte by way of Avenida Juárez and Reforma, so the far half gives you room the square never does, and you can arrive an hour beforehand rather than five.
Tickets and what it costs
The square is free and always has been. There is no ticketing, no reserved standing and no official paid access.
What is sold is a view from above. Hotels and restaurants overlooking the Zócalo package the evening with dinner and a balcony, and prices climb steeply as the date approaches. Book well ahead if that is the plan.
Everything else costs what a normal night costs, plus a great deal of flag merchandise sold on every corner from the first week of the month.
Official information and booking: www.gob.mx
Getting there
Metro only. The square is closed to traffic for days and the cordon extends several streets in every direction on the night itself.
Zócalo station sits directly beneath the square and is usually closed or exit-only during the event for crowd control, so plan to walk in from Allende, Bellas Artes or Pino Suárez.
Leaving is slower than arriving, because the crowd empties into a small number of streets at once. Phone signal in the square generally fails, so agree a meeting point rather than relying on calling anyone.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Arriving in the evening
The square fills through the afternoon and the security cordon closes before the cry is given. People who turn up an hour beforehand watch it from a screen in a side street.
Standing at the edge photographing it
This is a call and response and everyone around you is answering. Joining in badly is better received than observing politely.
Relying on your phone
Signal fails in a crowd that size, and it fails for everyone at once, so nobody in your group can reach anybody else. Decide where you will regroup before you go in, and take it that the plan cannot be changed afterwards.
Bringing a bag
Everything is searched at the cordon and large bags slow you down or get you turned back. Take as little as you can.
Booking a hotel near the Zócalo late
Rooms overlooking the square are spoken for months ahead and the whole Centro prices up for the week.
Confusing the two days
The cry is at night and it is a crowd event. The parade is the next morning and it is a formal military occasion. They need different plans and different expectations.
Other Mexico City events
Frequently asked questions
What actually happens at El Grito?
Late in the evening the president comes onto the balcony of the National Palace carrying the flag, calls out the names of the leaders of the independence movement, and the square answers each one. The bell above the door, brought from the parish church at Dolores, is rung at the beginning and the end. Fireworks follow, and a military parade crosses the square the next morning.
Can tourists attend El Grito in the Zócalo?
Yes, it is free and open to anyone, with bag searches at the cordon. The only real constraint is time: the square fills through the afternoon and the cordon closes before the evening, so arriving late means watching from a side street instead. Neighbourhood plazas across the city hold their own at the same hour and are much easier to get into.
How crowded does the Zócalo get for El Grito?
It is the largest crowd of the Mexican year in a single square. Phone signal fails, moving against the flow is not possible, and leaving takes far longer than arriving because the crowd empties into a handful of streets. Agree a meeting point beforehand and take as little with you as you can.
Is there a paid way to watch El Grito?
Only from a private balcony. Hotels and restaurants overlooking the Zócalo sell packages for the evening, usually with dinner, and prices rise steeply as the date approaches. There is no official paid access to the square itself and there never has been.
Where does the military parade go?
It forms up in the Zócalo and runs roughly eight kilometres west, leaving the historic centre and joining Avenida Juárez and then Paseo de la Reforma before finishing at Campo Marte. It takes three or four hours end to end. The centre closes completely, so the further along Reforma you stand the easier it is to find space and to leave afterwards.
What is the difference between El Grito and Independence Day?
They are consecutive and they are not the same. The cry is given on the night before and it is a mass participatory event in the square. Independence Day itself is the following morning and brings a formal military parade through the centre, which is daylit, structured and far easier to watch from the edges.
Sources
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2028. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.