INDEPENDENCE DAY FESTIVITIES UNDER WAY MEXICAN PRIDE EAST L.A. PARADE MARKS COUNTRY'S BATTLE AGAINST SPAIN.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer

To hearty shouts of Viva Mexico!, Mexican Independence Day festivities kicked off Sunday with a parade in East Los Angeles, where thousands gathered in one of the largest celebrations of its kind in the United States.

East Cesar Chavez Avenue overflowed with green, white, and red -- the colors of the Mexican flag -- as paradegoers donned bandanas, waved banners and threw confetti.

``This parade shows how we like to celebrate in Mexico,'' said Socorro Perez, who drove in from Fullerton with her two daughters to take part in the festivities.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa led the parade as grand marshal before heading out for scheduled appearances at cultural events that have come to define the city's diversity: the American Lebanese Festival at Griffith Park; a Greek Festival at St. Sophia Cathedral on Normandie; and the start of the annual Chabad telethon later in the evening.

``What I like about the parade is that people from many countries come to see it,'' Los Angeles resident Erika Ivanez said. ``Many people enjoy it.''

Billed as the largest Mexican independence celebration outside of Mexico, the parade featured crowd favorites: handsome charros riding atop horseback, pretty young women in folklorico skirts, and hypnotic Aztec dancers stepping in unison to rhythmic beats.

Mexican Independence Day falls on Sept.16. On that day in 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla woke up early and rang the bell of his church in the town of Dolores Hidalgo, shouting: ``Viva Mexico! Viva Fernando VII! Muera el mal gobierno!'' or ``Long live Mexico! Long live Fernando VII! Death to bad government!''

His shout, known as El Grito, spawned the beginning of an 11-year war in which Mexico won independence from Spain. Central American countries followed his example, which is why many Latin American countries celebrate Independence Day this month.

For many paradegoers, the event offered a bit of nostalgia.

``We try to come each year, to see the horses and because our friends are in it,'' said Julio Velasco of Los Angeles, who attended with his wife, Imelda, and their two children.

``It's kind of good for our kids to see this so that they learn about the traditions,'' Velasco said.

While politics seeped into the celebration in the form of placards asking to legalize the undocumented and to allow them to apply for driver's licenses, most paradegoers focused on the good weather and the positive community spirit.

For 10-year-old Angie Colon and her sister Yadira, 11, Sunday's parade was the first time they had participated as Aztec dancers with the Danza Huiziloposti group of Ingelwood.

Both were a little nervous.

``I don't want to trip,'' Angie said from under a crown of green feathers. ``And I hope my headdress doesn't fall down.''

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(1) Aztec dancers make their way down Cesar Chavez Avenue on Sunday in a parade to kick off Mexican Independence Day festivities. Thousands gathered in East Los Angeles for one of the largest celebrations of its kind in the United States.

(2 -- 3) Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, above, is grand marshal of the Mexican Independence Day parade in East Los Angeles, which included a caballero color guard, left. Mexican Independence Day falls on Sept.16, the date in 1810 when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's shout marked the start of Mexico's 11-year war for freedom from Spain.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer