墨西哥举国欢庆独立200周年

Tens of thousands of Mexicans thronged into the streets on Wednesday to celebrate the bicentenary of Mexico's fight for independence from Spain.

Planes painted the sky with the national colors of green, white and red as thousands of Mexico City residents watched a huge parade down the main Reforma avenue heading to a nighttime fireworks display at the huge Zocalo central square.

Hundreds of smaller celebrations took place across the country to the sounds of mariachi music, fireworks and with streets lined with Mexican flags.

Some revelers wore straw sombreros and stick-on mustaches, poking fun at a national stereotype, while the government sought to promote a more serious side with an open-air philharmonic orchestra.

Shortly before midnight, President Felipe Calderon gave the famous cry of the call to arms, known as "El Grito," in Mexico City, echoed by state governors and mayors in desert and jungle towns and cities across Mexico.

"Viva Mexico!" is a current-day twist on rebel priest Miguel Hidalgo's original call to arms in 1810. Mexicans eventually achieved their independence from Spain in 1821.

Despite a slow recovery from last year's deep recession, many cities organized dazzling celebrations, with eight metric tons of fireworks for Mexico City alone, which lit up the city center. Mexican media put the party's cost at $40 million.

数万名墨西哥民众本周三涌上街头，庆祝墨西哥独立200周年。墨西哥在独立前曾为西班牙殖民地。

飞机在空中喷射出代表国旗的绿色、白色和红色三色烟雾。数千名墨西哥城居民观看了庞大的游行队伍沿着改革大道走向索卡罗中心广场。广场晚间还上演了焰火表演。

墨西哥全国各地还举行了数百场规模较小的庆祝活动，人们奏响流浪乐队的乐曲，点燃焰火，大街小巷都插满墨了西哥国旗。

一些狂欢者戴上宽边大草帽，粘上胡须，拿墨西哥的标志性形象开涮，而政府则以室外交响乐会的形式进行了更隆重的庆祝。

午夜前夕，墨西哥总统费利佩•卡尔德龙大呼战斗口号“多洛雷斯呼声”，沙漠小城、丛林小镇、以及墨西哥各市的政府官员及市长纷纷呼应。

“墨西哥万岁”是墨西哥“独立之父”米格尔·伊达戈尔1810年发出的战斗口号的“现代版”。墨西哥于1821年摆脱西班牙殖民统治，实现独立。

尽管墨西哥从去年经济危机中复苏的步伐非常缓慢，但很多城市仍组织了绚丽的庆祝活动。仅墨西哥城就燃烧了8吨焰火，点亮了城市中心上空。据墨西哥媒体报道，此次庆祝活动花费为4千万美元。

Vocabulary:

throng: to assemble, collect, or go in large numbers; crowd（群集；拥塞；拥向）

mariachi: pertaining to traditional Mexican dance music, usually played by a small band of strolling musicians dressed in native costumes（墨西哥街头乐队，流浪乐队）