First of all it must be said It is correct that on February 27, 1812, Manuel Belgrano raised a flag with the blue and white colors for the first time in Rosario, on the banks of the Paraná River., with the batteries “Libertad” and “Independencia”. No less true is that he made his soldiers swear allegiance to the nascent national flag.
10,000 pesos bill 2.jpg
María Remedios del Valle and Manuel Belgrano on the $10,000 bill.
This historic act is widely recognized as the “creation” of the Argentine flag. However, there are a series of subsequent events that cast doubt on whether this was the moment in which Argentina began to identify itself with the colors blue and white. The thing is that the government of the time, represented by the Triumvirate, did not approve its immediate use. In fact, on March 3, 1812, the Triumvirate ordered Belgrano to hide the flag and use the current insignia in the capital due to diplomatic and political concerns.
Contrary to what the inscription on the banknote suggests, the first official swearing in of the flag was not in 1812. And despite the fact that the flag was raised again by Belgrano on May 25, 1812 in San Salvador de Jujuy, this action was not admitted by the government either.
There are historians who explain that only on February 13, 1813 did the first official oath take place next to the Salado River, since then called “Juramento River”, in Salta. That year, during the General Constituent Assembly, the use of the flag in military campaigns was finally allowed.
►YOU MAY BE INTERESTED: What to do with torn or damaged banknotes?
The alleged error of the bill – which was not the act of swearing, but of creation – was pointed out on social networks by historians seeking to correct the “equivocal” narrative presented. One critical tweet incorrectly stated that the flag was used and sworn on May 25, 1812, a claim also incorrect, given that this act was also not officially recognized by the government until 1813.
However, on the official site of Casa Rosada, about the patriotic symbols, specifically about the national flag, it says: “Created by General Manuel Belgrano on February 27, 1812, It was consecrated with the same colors “light blue and white” by the Congress of Tucumán on July 20, 1816 and ratified by the same body in Buenos Aires, on February 25, 1818″, which would agree with those who They maintain that the act on the banks of the Paraná was that of creation and not that of swearing in.
