Ruta 2010

Along certain Mexican highways you can see signs marked “Ruta 2010“. So what do those signs mean? What is “Ruta 2010” (Route 2010 in English), and why have those signs popped up all over Mexico?

Well, Mexico, in the year 2010, will be celebrating the bicentenary of its Independence from Spain (1810). In addition, 2010 will mark the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution (1910). These two historical events will be celebrated with fanfare and fun all over Mexico, and part of the program of celebration and awareness of these historical moments is the marking of six geographical routes, three concerned with the Independence movement and three concerned with the Mexican Revolutionary movement, for those people interested in traveling along and retracing the paths and itineraries of the major players and military campaigns of both of these events. Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism (Secretaria de Turismo) will be providing information at strategic points along these routes for the benefit of travelers, and the INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia – the National Institute of Anthropology and History) will be updating and refurbishing historical sites, monuments and other installations in preparation for these anniversaries.

Full information about the routes and related historical events is be available on the Bicentennial website at http://www.bicentenario.gob.mx. Each route has maps in PDF format that can be downloaded and printed, and the site provides historical information about each of the major players and personalities involved.

Rutas de la Independencia (Routes of Independece)

1. Ruta de la Libertad (Route of Freedom): this is the route that Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla took from Villa de Dolores to Chihuahua. Included are sub-routes corresponding to the movements of the subordinates Jose Antonio “El Amo” Torres, Jose María Mercado, Jose Maria Gonzalez de Hermosillo, Francisco Osorno and Ignacio Rayon.

2. Ruta Sentimientos de la Nacion (Route of the Sentiments of the Nation): This route traces out the military campaign led by Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon and his men through Michoacan, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Morelos, Mexico, Puebla, Veracruz y Chiapas.

3. Ruta Trigarante (Route of the Three Guarantees): Route taken by Agustin de Iturbide for the consummation of Independence, traveling from Iguala, Guerrero, to Mexico City.

Rutas de la Revolución (Routes of the Revolution)

1. Ruta de la Democracia (Route of Democracy): This was Francisco I. Madero‘s route from Cd. Juarez to Mexico City in 1911.

2. Ruta Zapatista (Zapata’s Route): The route of Emiliano Zapata‘s Ejército Libertador del Sur (Southern Liberation Army) which took him through the states of Morelos, Puebla, Mexico and the Federal District.

3. Ruta de la Revolución Constitucionalista (Route of the Constitutionalist Revolution): This is the route of the military actions undertaken by four distinct historical personalities of the Revolution: Venustiano Carranza (Commander in Chief), Alvaro Obregon and the Northwest Division, Francisco Villa and the Northern Division, Pablo Gonzalez and the Northeast Division.