Día de la Independencia

Today is Independence Day in Argentina. The people in my office said there wasn't a lot of celebrating, other than celebrating a day off from work, but I was determined to find a ceremony of some sort. It turns out there was a parade that was supposed to start at 10:30 at Plaza de Mayo (or so I thought). So, I woke up early and headed down to Plaza de Mayo to get a good seat (alone - two friends deserted me at the last minute). Well, I arrived there and there were the usual vendors and tourists milling around, but no indication of a parade. I asked a police officer and he said the parade was over (welcome to Argentina!).

So, I figured I'd wander up to Congreso and see if anything was shaking there. It turns out that is where the parade was starting and the festivities were just underway. I got there just in time! Boy scouts were passing out hot chocolate and they had just begun to sing the national anthem and raise the flag. Perfect timing! After the raising of the flag, there was a ceremony officiated by local dignitaries, followed by a small parade down Avenida de Mayo.

The parade featured a band of Regimiento de Patricios, members of the Armed Forces, Federal Police, and antique military vehicles, as well as youth groups, representatives of the province of Santiago del Estero with their traditional bass drums, and 300 professors from the Instituto de Arte Folklórico.

What was surprising, however, was the lack of attendance. For a city that boasts a population of 3 million in Capital Federal and another 14 million in the province, I would estimate the attendance was less than 1,000 people. Here's a photo album from today's parade and some random pictures I took as well.