[1] Its construction lasted from 1798 to 1809, by orders of Juan Antonio de Riaño y Bárcena, a Spaniard who was the quartermaster of the city during the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

[2] Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his insurgent army stormed the building during the first battle of the Mexican War of Independence, leading to the leyend of el Pípila.

[5] When Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla's insurgent troops threatened to take over this city during the Mexican War of Independence, Riaño secured himself in the Grain Exchange on 28 September 1810, along with many other Spaniards and some rich criollos.

[8] Riaño believed that the strength of the building, its ample supplies and its positioning would make it easy to repel the insurgents' attacks.

According to a popular tradition the man chosen to perform this task was Juan José Martínez "El Pípila", an extraordinarily strong local miner.

This event would encourage Hidalgo not to attack Mexico City, afraid his followers would repeat the massacres and looting of Guanajuato.

The four main participants - Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, and José Mariano Jiménez - were shot by Spanish firing squads, and their bodies decapitated.

[12] Attached to one side of the Grain Exchange is a large plaza with a set of wide steps that rise to meet the edge of the building.

During the annual International Cervantino Festival, this space is converted into a large open air auditorium for live performances.

The shows (often music and dance by groups of worldwide acclaim) are free to the general public, with reserved seats directly below the stage.