¡Viva México! Six records to celebrate Mexican independence day

Every year on 16 September, millions of Mexican citizens celebrate their country’s independence with parades, traditional music and the famous grito or “shout” of Dolores, commemorating the war that ultimately won the nation’s independence.  

 

This year Guinness World Records is joining in on the celebration by sharing some of our favourite Mexican records.

 

1. One of Mexico’s most beloved and traditional musical styles is Mariachi, which has been recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2013, 700 Mariachi musicians gathered in Guadalajara to claim the record title for Most Mariachis performing simultaneously (pictured above), bringing the title back to Mexico from its previous record holder California. 

 

 

2. Mexico is also famous around the world for its delicious food, which is a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican and European cuisines. Perhaps the most famous Mexican dish of all is the taco. In 2015 the city of Hermosillo, Mexico channelled their love of cooking into a new world record for the Largest serving of tacos with a whopping 1,166.5 kilogrammes of carne asada tacos. That was enough to make nearly 19,000 tacos on 1,050 grills.

 

 

3. With all this talk of Mexican patriotism, it would be remiss to forget that the city of Piedras Negras, Mexico holds the record for the Largest flag flown. The giant Mexican flag measured 34.4 metres by 60 metres and was hoisted over the desert city on a windy day in 2011.

 

 

4. Along with food and music, Mexicans are passionate about sports, especially football. In fact, the Copa Telmex holds the record for both the Largest football (soccer) tournament (female) and the Largest football (soccer) tournament (male), which took place throughout Mexico with 42,324 and 215,273 participants respectively. 

 

 

5. To celebrate the Day of the Dead, 509 costumed participants gathered in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico to break the record for the Largest gathering of Catrinas and Catrines. The group had their faces painted to resemble skeletons and wore traditional costumes.

 

 

6. The most recent of our featured records comes from the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán where 260 dancers in pre-Columbian costume gathered to break the record for the Largest Mexican ancient ceremonial dance.