Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the context of "Alhóndiga de Granaditas"

Guadalajara (/ˌɡwɑːdələˈhɑːrə/ GWAH-də-lə-HAR-ə, Spanish: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa] ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 8th most populous city in Mexico, while the Guadalajara metropolitan area has a population of 5,268,642, making it the third-largest metropolitan area in the country and the twenty-second largest metropolitan area in the Americas. Guadalajara has the second-highest population density in Mexico with over 10,361 people per km, surpassed only by Mexico City. Within Mexico, Guadalajara is a center of business, arts and culture, technology and tourism; as well as the economic center of the Bajío region. It usually ranks among the 100 most productive and globally competitive cities in the world. It is home to numerous landmarks, including the Guadalajara Cathedral, Degollado Theatre, the Templo Expiatorio, the UNESCO World Heritage site Hospicio Cabañas, and the San Juan de Dios Market—the largest indoor market in Latin America.

A settlement was established in the region of Guadalajara in early 1532 by Cristóbal de Oñate, a Basque conquistador in the expedition of Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán. The settlement was renamed and moved several times before assuming the name Guadalajara after the birthplace of Guzmán and ending up at its current location in the Atemajac Valley in 1542. On November 8, 1539, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had granted a coat of arms and the title of city to the new town and established it as the capital of the Kingdom of Nueva Galicia, part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. After 1572, the Royal Audiencia of Guadalajara, previously subordinate to Mexico City, became the only authority in New Spain with autonomy over Nueva Galicia, owing to rapidly growing wealth in the kingdom following the discovery of silver. By the 18th century, Guadalajara had taken its place as Mexico's second largest city, following mass colonial migrations in the 1720s and 1760s. During the Mexican War of Independence, independence leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla established Mexico's first revolutionary government in Guadalajara in 1810. The city flourished during the Porfiriato (1876–1911), with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, but its growth was hampered significantly during the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). In 1929, the Cristero War ended within the confines of the city, when President Plutarco Elías Calles proclaimed the Grito de Guadalajara. The city saw continuous growth throughout the rest of the 20th century, attaining a metro population of 1 million in the 1960s and surpassing 3 million in the 1990s.

Hidalgo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Hidalgo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 84 municipalities and its capital city is Pachuca de Soto. It is located in east-central Mexico and is bordered by San Luis Potosí and Veracruz on the north, Puebla on the east, Tlaxcala and State of Mexico on the south and Querétaro on the west.

In 1869, Benito Juárez created the State of Hidalgo and made Pachuca its capital city; "de Soto" was added later in recognition of Manuel Fernando Soto [es], who is considered the most important driving force in creating the state. The state was named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence.

Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato.

It is located in central Mexico and is bordered by the states of Jalisco to the west, Zacatecas to the northwest, San Luis Potosí to the north, Querétaro to the east, and Michoacán to the south. It covers an area of 30,608 km (11,818 sq mi). The state is home to several historically important cities, especially those along the "Bicentennial Route", which retraces the path of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's insurgent army at the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. This route begins at Dolores Hidalgo, and passes through the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, San Miguel de Allende, Celaya, and the capital of Guanajuato. Other important cities in the state include León, the state's biggest city, Salamanca, and Irapuato. The first town established by the Spaniards in Guanajuato is Acámbaro while the first to be named a city is Salvatierra.

Chihuahua, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, are the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is located in the northwestern part of Mexico and is bordered by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the southwest, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east. To the north and northeast, it shares an extensive border with the U.S. adjacent to the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. The state was named after its capital city, Chihuahua City; the largest city is Ciudad Juárez. In 1864 the city of Chihuahua was declared capital of Mexico by Benito Juárez during the Reform War and French intervention until 1867. The city of Parral was the largest producer of silver in the world in 1640. During the Mexican War of Independence, Miguel Hidalgo was executed on July 30, 1811, in Chihuahua city.

Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with its namesake, the Chihuahuan Desert, it has more forests than any other state in Mexico, aside from Durango. Due to its varied climate, the state has a large variety of fauna and flora. The state is mostly characterized by rugged mountainous terrain and wide river valleys. The Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, part of the continental spine that also includes the Rocky Mountains, dominates the state's terrain, and is home to the state's greatest attraction, Las Barrancas del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. The state also has the largest crystal cave in Mexico known as the Naica cave discovered in 2001. Chihuahua is also home to the archaeological site of Paquimé in Casas Grandes that was created by the people of the Mogollon culture of Northern Mexico and is recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage site. Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, with an area of 247,455 square kilometres (95,543 sq mi), it is slightly larger than the United Kingdom, and slightly smaller than Wyoming, the tenth largest US state by area. The state is consequently known under the nickname El Estado Grande ('The Great State' or 'The Big State').

The Cry of Dolores (Spanish: Grito de Dolores) occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. The Cry of Dolores is most commonly known by the locals as El Grito de Independencia (The Independence Cry).

The Capture of Alhóndiga de Granaditas was a military action carried out in Guanajuato, viceroyalty of New Spain, on September 28, 1810, between the royalist soldiers of the province and the insurgents commanded by Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende. The fear unleashed in the social circles of the provincial capital made the intendant, Juan Antonio Riaño, ask the population to barrack in the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, a granary built in 1800, and in whose construction Miguel Hidalgo had participated as an advisor to his old friend Riaño. After several hours of combat, Riaño was killed and the Spaniards who had taken refuge there wished to surrender. The military in the viceroy's service continued the fight, until the insurgents managed to enter and then massacred not only the few guards that defended it, but also the numerous families of civilians who had taken refuge there. Many historians consider this confrontation more like a mutiny or massacre of civilians than a battle, since there were no conditions of military equality between the two sides.

José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón (Spanish: [xosemaˈɾi.a ˈteklo moˈɾelos ˈpeɾes i paˈβon] ; 30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1811.

Born in Valladolid, Michoacán, Morelos studied at Colegio de San Nicolás and was appointed priest of Carácuaro in 1799. He joined Miguel Hidalgo's Cry of Dolores, soon becoming an insurgency leader. Aided by local peoples, along with revolutionary leaders Mariano Matamoros and Ignacio López Rayón, Morelos occupied territories in southern and central New Spain, leading the Siege of Cuautla and capturing Acapulco, New Spain's main port in the Pacific Ocean. His campaigns galvanized regional insurgencies against Spanish rule, which made him the royalist army's main rival.

Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga (US: /ɑːˈjɛndeɪ, -di/, UK: /æˈ-, aɪˈɛn-/, Spanish: [iɣˈnasjo aˈʝende]; January 21, 1769 – June 26, 1811), commonly known as Ignacio Allende, was a captain of the Spanish Army in New Spain who came to sympathize with the Mexican independence movement. He attended the secret meetings organized by Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, where the possibility of an independent Mexico was discussed. He fought along with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the first stage of the struggle, eventually succeeding him in leadership of the rebellion. Allende was captured by Spanish colonial authorities while he was in Coahuila and executed for treason in Chihuahua.