WASHINGTON D.C. (BNO NEWS) – President Barack Obama on Friday announced a delegation that will attend the celebrations of Mexico’s Bicentennial of the Independence next week.

The U.S. delegation will be led by the Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The group will travel to Mexico City on September 14 to witness the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Independence War against the Spanish rule.

Secretary Solis will be joined by Carlos Pascual, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico; Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs; and Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas.

On September 15, 1810, the Independence War against the Spanish conquerors began in the small town of Dolores, Guanajuato. The struggle between the Spanish conquerors and the insurgents consisting in Mexican natives and second-generation Spaniards who were born in Mexico lasted until September 28, 1821.

This year is also the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, a long civil war that witnessed clashes between the government and the poorest sectors of society. The battle sought the freedom of speech, the equal division of farm lands and better work conditions for population immerse in poverty.

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