Q&AZ is supported in part by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Through our Q&AZ reporting project, a listener wanted to know how Mexico’s Independence Day is being celebrated in neighboring Sonora this year.
Mexico is celebrating the 210 anniversary of its independence on Sept. 16, 1810. But the ritual "grito" is going virutal in Sonora this year.
On the eve of Mexico’s Independence Day — Sept. 16 — people traditionally gather in city plazas across the country for a reenactment of the the “grito de independencia.”
But the cry of independence will be virtual this year in Sonoran, and many other parts of Mexico, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among the usually large crowds that often celebrate late into the night.
And authorities are asking residents not to hold gatherings at their homes this year either.
"We'll celebrate our independence like an army of true warriors, fighting for our health and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," Sonoran Health Secretary Enrique Clausen said in a video announcement released Monday.
He added: "¡Que viva México!, ¡Y que muera el Coronavirus!” May Mexico live and the coronavirus die.
The virtual "grito" will be televised and published on social mediaat 9:30 tonight.