Mexico celebrates 200 years with huge party

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Mexicans thronged into the streets on Wednesday to celebrate Mexico's bicentenary of its fight for independence from Spain, even as mounting drug violence took a toll on national pride.

Planes painted the sky with the national colours of green, white and red, as thousands of Mexico City residents watched a huge parade down the main Reforma avenue heading to a nighttime fireworks display at the huge Zocalo central square.

Hundreds of smaller celebrations were taking place across the country to the sounds of mariachi music and with streets lined with Mexican flags.

Some revellers wore straw sombreros and stick-on moustaches, poking fun at a national stereotype, while the government sought to promote a more serious side with an open-air philharmonic orchestra.

Shortly before midnight, President Felipe Calderon will give the famous cry of the call to arms, known as "El Grito," in Mexico City, echoed by state governors and mayors in desert and jungle towns and cities.

"Viva Mexico!" is a current-day twist on rebel priest Miguel Hidalgo's original call to arms in 1810. Mexicans eventually achieved their independence from Spain in 1821.

Despite a slow recovery from last year's deep recession, many cities have organized dazzling celebrations, with eight tonnes of fireworks planned for Mexico City. The Mexican media has put the cost of the party at some $40 million.

Among the first marchers were nearly 250 teenagers carrying replicas of native, paddle-shaped nopal cacti on their heads.

Marchers also carried helium-filled depictions of Mayan gods behind the replica of a rebel soldier hauled piece by piece to the Zocalo, where it will be assembled into a towering statue.

"We have a rich country and we are making progress," said Yan Vargas, a civil servant at the celebrations in Mexico City. "But it is progress thanks to our people, not the government."

"FULL OF TEARS"

Invasion, civil war and the current fight to subdue drug cartels have all been part of Mexico's two centuries of history. An uneven record of peace and progress has not sapped a national effort for united celebration for a diverse people.

The government's bloody war against drug traffickers has cast a shadow over parts of the country, particularly the northern border with the United States, where 14 municipalities have had to call off celebrations due to safety concerns.

Even as Mexico shut down for the festivities, soldiers killed eight drug hitmen in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, of which Mexico's business centre Monterrey is the capital.

Mexicans' traditional verve has been dampened by the more than 28,000 drug killings across the country since Calderon launched his army-led war against drug cartels in late 2006. Those killed are mostly drug hitmen and corrupt police, but many young teenagers have been sucked into the drug fight and civilian deaths have tarnished Mexico's self-image.

"We don't have anything to celebrate, and so much to cry and shout about. The country is full of tears and silence," said Perla de la Rosa, an actress in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's most violent city with 6,500 drug killings since early 2008.

Many were nonetheless proud to mark the anniversary of such a diverse nation famed internationally for its food, Mayan ruins, history and white-sand beaches.

(Additional reporting by Julian Cardona in Ciudad Juarez and Robin Emmott in Monterrey; Writing by Robin Emmott; Editing by Paul Simao)