evolution Day, (el Día de la Revolución) is celebrated every year in Mexico on November 20th. On this day, Mexicans remember and celebrate the Revolution which started in 1910 and lasted for about ten years. The holiday is sometimes referred to by its date, el veinte de noviembre (the 20th of November). The official date is November 20, but nowadays students and workers get the day off on the third Monday of November, no matter which date it falls on.

This is a national holiday in Mexico in commemoration of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.

Why November 20?

The revolution began in 1910, initiated by Francisco I. Madero, a reformist writer and politician from the state of Chihuahua, to oust President Porfirio Diaz who had been in power for over 30 years. Francisco Madero was one of many people in Mexico who were tired of Diaz' authoritarian rule,. Along with his cabinet, Diaz was aging while holding tightly to the reins of the country. Madero formed the Anti-Reelectionist Party and ran against Diaz, but the elections were rigged and Diaz won again. Diaz had Madero jailed in San Luis Potosí. Upon his release, he fled to Texas where he wrote the Plan of San Luis Potosi, which urged the people to rise up in arms against the government in order to re-install democracy in the country. The date of November 20th at 6 pm was set for the revolt to begin.

A couple of days before the planned date of the insurrection, the authorities discovered that Aquiles Serdan and his family, who lived in Puebla, were planning to participate in the revolution. They had been stockpiling arms in preparation. The first shots of the revolution were fired on November 18 at their home, which is now the Museo de la Revolución.

The rest of the revolutionaries joined the fight on November 20th as planned, and that is still considered the official beginning of the Mexican Revolution.