THE 1969 MILITARY SERVICE!

50 years ago, I complied with Mexico's mandatory military service which was a one year long basic training every Sunday.  I never could get a picture of me taken during my service, but I can recreate it as best I can here!

The year was 1969, and my battalion was summoned to serve as barrier between the crowds and the Military Parade which is held every September 16th, to commemorate Mexico's independence from Spanish domination. We all stood there stoically for hours until the last section of the long parade passed by. 

Ah! The Military Service! 

And now,  50 years later, I can look back at those days...and still hate them immensely!

Mexico's Independence Day

Often confused with Cinco de Mayo by people living in the United States, Mexico’s independence day is actually September 16. The date marks the moment when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest known as Father Hidalgo, made the first cry for independence in 1810. After a moving speech in the Mexican town of Dolores, Hidalgo took up the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a Roman Catholic image of the Virgin Mary as she appears to Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican believer who was later sainted by the church.