Father Miguel Hidalgo rallied a small band to begin the Mexican War of Independence in Dolores with a rousing speech. This moment is commemorated as Mexican Independence Day, and the comments by Hidalgo are remembered as "El Grito de Dolores," or "the Cry of Dolores," which is well remembered in Mexico. Remarkably, though, no one knows precisely what Hidalgo actually said at the time, but it is clear he at least rallied people around the Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Ferdinand VII, the deposed King of Spain. Hidalgo was also a strange figure to have communicated these ideals. Nonetheless, Hidalgo and El Grito de Dolores became icons of Mexican independence and nationalism.