monument is part of the long process of the construction of historical memory of Mexican independence. Although Mexico gained its independence in September 1821, the marking of this historical event did not take hold immediately. The choice of date to celebrate was problematic, because Iturbide, who achieved independence from Spain, was rapidly created Emperor of Mexico. His short-lived rule from 1821 to 1823 ended when he was forced by the military to abdicate. This was a rocky start for the new nation, which made celebrating independence on the anniversary of Iturbide's Army of the Three Guarantees marching into Mexico City in triumph a less than perfect day for those who had opposed him. Celebrations of independence during his reign were marked on 27 September. Following his ouster, there were calls to commemorate Mexican independence along the lines that the United States celebrated in grand style its Independence Day on 4 July. The creation of a committee of powerful men to mark independence celebrations, the Junta Patriótica, organized celebrations of both 16 September, to commemorate Hidalgo's grito and the start of the independence insurgency, and 27 September, to celebrate actual political independence. During the Díaz regime (1876–1911), the president's birthday coincided with the 15/16 September celebration of independence. The largest celebrations took place and continue to do so in the capital's main square, the zócalo, with the pealing of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City's bells. In the 1880s, government officials attempted to move the bell that Hidalgo rang in 1810 to gather parishioners in Dolores for what became his famous "grito". Initially the pueblo's officials said the bell no longer existed, but in 1896, the bell, known as the Bell of San José, was taken to the capital. It was renamed the "Bell of Independence" and ritually rung by Díaz. It is now an integral part of Independence Day festivities. There are plans for the commemoration of independence in 2021, as well as the establishment of the Mexican republic in 2024. The 2021 event is termed the Consummation of Independence. See also Afro-Mexicans in the Mexican War of Independence List of wars involving Mexico Spanish attempts to reconquer Mexico Timeline of Mexican War of Independence Mexico References Further reading Annino, Antonio. "The Two-Faced Janus: The Pueblos and the Origins of Mexican Liberalism" in Cycles of Conflict, Centuries of Change: Crisis, Reform, and Revolution in Mexico, Elisa Servín, Leticia Reina, and