The Bicentennial of the

flag of Argentina The national flag of the Argentine Republic is a triband (flag), triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue and white. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors. The flag was created by ...

was celebrated on February 27, 2012. It commemorated the 200th anniversary of the creation of the flag of Argentina by Manuel Belgrano, during the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín a ...

. Most celebrations took place at

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

, as the event took place in that city.

Historical event

The Flag of Argentina was created by Manuel Belgrano during the

. After concluding the Paraguay campaign, he moved to

to build artilleries. While being in the village he noticed that both the royalist and patriotic forces were using the same colors, Spain's yellow and red. He proposed to the national government the use of a new cockade, blue and white. It was approved, so he created a flag of the same colours nine days later. It was first flown on 27 February 1812, next to the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

. The government did not accept the flag, but Belgrano had left to the north, following previous orders. Still unaware about the rejection, Belgrano raised the flag at San Salvador de Jujuy and had it blessed by the local church on the second anniversary of the May Revolution. When he got the news from the government, he hide the flag. The

Assembly of the Year XIII The Assembly of Year XIII ( es, Asamblea del Año XIII) was a meeting called by the Second Triumvirate governing the young republic of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on October 1812 ...

allowed the flag as a war flag. The first oath to the newly approved flag was on February 13, 1813, next to the Salado River, which as also known since then as "''Río Juramento''" ("Oath River"). The first battle fought with the approved flag was the battle of Salta, a decisive patriotic victory that achieved the complete defeat of royalist Pío Tristán.

Festivities

The celebrations were held from February 23 to 27. The first four days had theater plays with the life of Manuel Belgrano. Fito Páez and other musicians played a concert on February 24, at the

National Flag Memorial The National Flag Memorial (Spanish, ''Monumento Nacional a la Bandera'') in Rosario, Argentina, is a monumental complex built near the shore of the Paraná River. It was inaugurated on June 20, 1957, the anniversary of the death of Manuel Belgra ...

. Another concert was held on February 26, ending with the Argentine National Anthem at midnight. The following day, a giant flag was moved to the National Flag Memorial. There was a parade with the president and provincial governors attending.Esperan una participación "multitudinaria" en los festejos del Bicentenario de la Bandera

Historical event

Festivities

References

See also