¡Viva Mexico!

An afternoon snack-turned-history-lesson

Being a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and trying to do my best to raise boys who are culturally aware, I decided to make a unique snack on September 16 for Mexican Independence Day.

Brief Mexican Independence Day History Lesson—

In the early morning hours of September 16, 1810, a Catholic Priest named Miguel Hidalgo rang the bells of his church in the small town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato and called the congregation to revolt against Spanish rule (BTW, I just got the chills typing this).

That famous Cry of Dolores was basically a call to arms, triggering the Mexican War of Independence. The war itself lasted over a decade. Mexico’s independence wasn’t declared until September 28, 1821 but Hidalgo’s strong will and call to action to take back his country is what Mexicans celebrate on September 16.

With that said, the boys asked nothing about Mexican Independence Day!!

They wanted to know the meaning of the eagle located on the center of the Mexican flag.

So let me begin with my attempt at making Mexican Flag Graham Cracker Snacks:

Ingredients:

Graham Crackers
Kiwi
Strawberries
Cream Cheese
Walnuts
Cilantro bits

To Make these

All you have to do is 1) dice the fruit 2) spread cream cheese on the graham crackers 3) use Walnut pieces to create an eagle look-alike in the center 4) Add tiny pieces of cilantro to look like the cactus where the eagle is standing 5) cover the left side of the graham cracker with the diced kiwi 6) Cover the right side of the graham cracker with diced strawberries 7) Enjoy!

Now to the Mexican Eagle Story

and why there’s an eagle at the center of the Mexican Flag.

The question from Benny was: “Mama, why is there an eagle on the flag?”

Here was my simple explanation (which actually resulted in many more questions from Benny afterwards, but we won’t get into that):

Many years ago in Mexico, the Aztec people needed to know exactly where to build their city.

Their leader, a God named Huitzilopochtli (pronounced Weet-zee-low-poach-lee), told his people to search the land and when they came across an eagle standing on a cactus, eating a serpent— that would be their sign to make that place their home.

When the Aztecs arrived in Mexico City, they saw an eagle, standing on a cactus and eating a snake. So they made Mexico City their new home!

The eagle was placed on the Mexican Flag to remind people of the sign the Aztecs looked for— and found— before moving there:

After our history lesson, we got to eat the crunchy snacks!

Tip: In order to avoid the fruit and cream cheese from making the graham crackers soggy, eat immediately after preparing!

Thanks for reading!

Xo,

-Anabel

Mexican Independence Day Snack Idea