Next Thursday (Sept. 16), Mexican citizens will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the start of events that led to Mexico's independence from Spain after three centuries of oppression from the privileged classes of Spanish descent. Shortly before dawn on Sept. 16, 2010, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest in the village of Dolores, called for the indigenous people to revolt, in what became known as the Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores") and El Grito de la Independencia ("Cry of Independence"). Mexican President Felipe Calderón has proclaimed 2010 as "Año de la Patria," or "Year of the Nation" in celebration of the bicentennial of Mexican Independence Day and also the 100th anniversary of the start of the Mexican Revolution, which will be Nov. 20. The following faculty members at the University of North Texas are available to discuss topics related to the anniversaries of Mexico's independence from Spain and the Mexican Revolution. Both are fluent in Spanish. Dr. Roberto Calderón, UNT associate professor of history, directs UNT's Mexican-American Studies minor for the Department of History. He researches the political, labor, social and cultural history of Mexican people residing in the United States. Office phone: 940-369-8929 or 940-565-2288 E-mail: beto@unt.edu Dr. Aaron Navarro, UNT associate professor of history, researches comparative Latin American politics, elections and opposition, Latin American militaries and border studies and immigration in Latin America, particularly Mexico. He teaches courses on Mexican history and modern Mexico and is the author of the forthcoming book Political intelligence and the Creation of Modern Mexico, 1938-1954. Office phone: 940-565-3340 Home phone: 214-836-6925 E-mail: Navarro@unt.edu |