Celebrating Mexican independence.

Despite damp weather, islanders came out in force last night to celebrate Mexican Independence, with the island's mayor making an emotional grito at City Hall. The Mexican president and other political leaders across the country also made their cries, as is tradition every year on the night before Independence Day.

Weather permitting, today will see military parades, bullfights, rodeos and horseback rider performances take place in Cozumel, as well as other towns and cities across the whole Republic. The events form part of a wider program of patriotic celebrations, which take place throughout the month of September.

Traditional regional dresses worn as part of this month's patriotic events.

The cry by political leaders is made in memory of the Grito de Dolores, a call for Mexicans to rise up against the Spanish, originally made by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1810.

Hidalgo was parish priest in the town of Dolores, from where the Grito - or Cry - takes its name. His words led to a fullscale uprising and the Mexican War of Independence.

Later, in 1815, Hidalgo was caught and killed by the Spanish, but rebel groups continued to fight and in 1821 the Mexicans eventually won victory.