Flag of Argentina

The national flag of Argentina, often referred to as the Argentine flag (Spanish: bandera Argentina), is a triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured baby blue and white. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors. The flag was created by Manuel Belgrano, in line with the creation of the Cockade of Argentina, and was first raised at the city of Rosario on 27 February 1812, during the Argentine War of Independence. The National Flag Memorial was later built on the site. The First Triumvirate did not approve the use of the flag, but the Assembly of the Year XIII allowed the use of the flag as a war flag. It was the Congress of Tucumán which finally designated it as the national flag in 1816. A yellow Sun of May was added to the center in 1818 by Juan de Dios Rivera Túpac, a descendant of Inca nobility, to represent the Inca sun.

The full flag featuring the sun is called the Official Ceremonial Flag (Bandera Oficial de Ceremonia). The flag without the sun is considered the Ornamental Flag (Bandera de Ornato). While both versions are equally considered the national flag, the ornamental version must always be hoisted below the Official Ceremony Flag. In vexillological terms, the Official Ceremonial Flag is the civil, state, and war flag and ensign, while the Ornamental Flag is an alternative civil flag and ensign. There is controversy of the true colour of the first flag between historians and the descendants of Manuel Belgrano between blue and pale blue.