VIDEO: ¡Viva México! 10 Songs to Celebrate Mexican Independence Day

Mexican pride is far from a recent phenomenon. It’s a feeling that’s always been there – in ranchera staples dating back to the ’30s all the way to the work of genre-bending Mexican millennials paying homage to their roots.

In honor of Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16), we pulled 10 classic gems that celebrate Mexico lindo y querido.

Take that, Donald Trump!

¡Viva México! 

Pedro Galindo Galarza wrote many beautiful songs in his lifetime, but this one takes the cake.

 
“Cielito Lindo”

Though many have tackled this one, no one does it justice quite like Pedro Infante, who embodies Mexican cinema’s golden age.


“15 de Septiembre” 

Annual celebrations of Mexican independence typically kick off the night of Sept. 15, commemorating the famous Grito de Dolores. Who better than José Alfredo Jimenez, a native of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, to sing about this historic event?

 
“Mexico en la Piel” 

They don’t call Luis Miguel el Sol de México [Mexico’s Sunshine] for nothing.



“Alla en el Rancho Grande”

You just knew, listening to a young Pedro Fernandez in the 1983 film Niño Pobre, Niño Rico, that he’d be around for a long time.

“Mi Ciudad” 

Ranchera icon Lola Beltrán is a national treasure. Here’s why.

 
“El Rey” 

If you’ve ever witnessed Vicente Fernandez singing “El Rey” live in all of his charro splendor, consider yourself lucky.


“Que Bonita es mi Tierra” 

All these years later, Javier Solís’ voice still sounds golden.


“Somos Más Americanos” 


In an era of xenophobia, this norteño immigrant anthem by Los Tigres del Norte is more relevant than ever. “I’d like to remind the Gringo that I didn’t cross the border, the border crossed me,” is just one of the memorable lines. A newly recorded rendition by Maná is now being used to mobilize voter registration among Latinos in the U.S.