At 11 p.m. on Friday, a bell was expected to ring in Mexico.

It happens every year at the same time. The country's president rings the same bell that previously stood in front of a Dolores, Mexico, church. The tradition marks the beginning of the Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

It's been happening for nearly 200 years — since Sept. 16, 1810, when a Mexican priest first urged Mexicans to seek independence from Spain.

Closer to home, Mexican immigrants celebrated with food, music and dancing in the St. Mark's Episcopal Church courtyard.

"(Friday night) is the shout-out, and everybody is here to celebrate," said Luis Sotelo, the event organizer.

Mexican Independence Day is the day the Rev. Miguel Hidalgo gave the "grito de Dolores," said Bill Smith, a professor of international studies at the University of Miami.

Smith said Hidalgo was a Catholic priest who resisted the government, and that the "grito de Dolores" is often translated as Hidalogo's cry of pain.

"The idea was that (Dolores) is the place where the fight for independence began, and (that Hidalgo) was expressing the pain of the Spanish colonial rule," Smith said. "He rang the bell and caused the population to fight for their independence."

Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, Smith said.

While Independence Day is celebrated in Mexico much like Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, it's often overlooked in the United States.

Instead, many people confuse Cinco de Mayo, celebrated on May 5, with the country's independence day.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the day the Mexican army defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, more than 50 years after the country gained independence from Spain.

"(In the U.S.) the focus has been on Cinco de Mayo as the day to celebrate Mexican identity," Smith said.

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated as a minor holiday in Mexico, Smith said.

Sotelo said he has organized Cinco de Mayo events in the past, but decided to plan a Mexican Independence Day party after friends and family members asked him to.

"I'm doing this because I am Mexican," Sotelo said with a smile.

On Saturday, the Mexican military marched through the streets of Mexico City, while the country's president was expected to celebrate the holiday in Dolores, Smith said.

In recent years, celebrating Mexican Independence Day has gained popularity in the United States, Smith said.

This was the first time Mexican Independence Day was celebrated Marco Island, Sotelo said.

The event, which was originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., started at 8 p.m., and party-goers could be found walking down 6th Avenue toward the booming music.

Children played, while parents talked and ate.

Smith said parties were schedule throughout the weekend in Miami, and other cities across the country that have a large Mexican population.

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