"Dolores Hidalgo, Cradle of Mexican... " a Ciudad de Dolores Hidalgo Travel Page by jungles

This town was originally named just Dolores. The 'Hidalgo' was added in honour of a local priest Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. On September 16, 1810, Padre Hidalgo took the keys of the town jail from the mayor and began to free the prisoners. The night before he had found out that his plan to rebel against the Spanish had been discovered, so had to act quickly. From the prison he made his way to the parish church to address the townspeople at dawn. This speech is now known as the 'Grita de la Independencia,' or 'Cry for Independence,' in which he beseeched the people to fight against the tyranny of the Spanish. He quickly gathered a following, and within days he and his supporters began capturing towns and cities in the Bajio region. Thirteen days after the cry, an 80,000-strong army marched on Guanajuato, where a fierce battle took place at the Alhondiga, the city grainery (see my Alhondiga tip under Guanajuato). Six months later Hidalgo was captured and killed, but he began the struggle that, eleven years later, resulted in Mexico's independence, and for this he is known as the father of the nation.