On July 9, Argentina celebrates the main public holiday - Independence Day. It was on this day in 1816 that the assembly - the National Congress - of delegates from different provinces of the country, which then included Uruguay, announced the creation of a state independent from Spain with the name of the United Provinces of South America.
It is curious that the state created on that day did not include its current capital, and the word Argentina appeared in the name of the state (Republic of Argentina) two decades later. Nevertheless, it is in Buenos Aires that the most magnificent celebrations of this date now take place. And this year, an official ceremony and a procession of many thousands through the city, which was opened by a military parade, took place here. However, there were much more peasants from other provinces who arrived for this holiday and marched through the streets of the capital in festive national costumes than the military. Of course, no parade, especially on Nation Day, as this holiday is often called here, can do without tango dancers. Fortunately, this year they did not have to dance in the snow - this is a natural phenomenon in the country, a rarity even in June, which is the winter month here. July 9 is a day off in Argentina, so a large number of people with their families took part in folk festivities that lasted until late in the evening and ended with fireworks.
This holiday, although not so magnificently, is celebrated with folk festivities in most of the more or less large cities of the country. They dispense with marching soldiers, although military bands often participate in the processions. In small towns of the country on a holiday, early in the morning, the national flag is solemnly raised, and later believers gather for a service dedicated to this date. The march begins even later and involves a variety of associations - for example, in the town of Alejandro Korn, local bikers and a club of rare cars are invited to it. In many cities of the republic, for this date, they are preparing to hold festivals of folk art of the Indians - the indigenous inhabitants of these places. It is they who give the festivities a national flavor, although almost 9/10 of the current inhabitants of Argentina are descendants of emigrants from Europe and Asia.
