Anniversary of Argentina’s May Revolution
During the days of the month leading up to this national holiday, Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires serves as a scenario for free music and dance shows. According to tradition, at midnight of May 24, residents gather in front of the Cabildo (that is, what is left of the city hall of colonial times) in Plaza de Mayo to sing the national anthem. But this year, the night of May 24 will be different. Argentine pop and folk music stars will sing modern versions of the national anthem and other classics during a free concert at the Obelisk that will kick off the year of festivities leading up to the country’s bicentennial in 2010.
Argentina celebrates its independence from Spain on two occasions. The first,
May 25, recalls the first step toward emancipation: the day in
1810 when a handful of patriots mobilized enough residents of Buenos Aires to achieve the replacement of the Viceroy as the head of the junta by a man more in sync with their ideas. The second,
July 9, commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Tucumán on that day in
1816, eight years before royalist forces were defeated in key places in Latin America.
During the days of the month leading up to this national holiday, Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires serves as a scenario for free music and dance shows. According to tradition, at midnight of May 24, residents gather in front of the Cabildo (that is, what is left of the city hall of colonial times) in Plaza de Mayo to sing the national anthem. But this year, the night of May 24 will be different. Argentine pop and folk music stars will sing modern versions of the national anthem and other classics during a free concert at the Obelisk that will kick off the year of festivities leading up to the country’s bicentennial in 2010.
Argentina celebrates its independence from Spain on two occasions. The first, May 25, recalls the first step toward emancipation: the day in 1810 when a handful of patriots mobilized enough residents of Buenos Aires to achieve the replacement of the Viceroy as the head of the junta by a man more in sync with their ideas. The second, July 9, commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Tucumán on that day in 1816, eight years before royalist forces were defeated in key places in Latin America.