June 20th: Flag Day of the Argentine Nation

Symbol of Identity, Unity and Collective Project

1. The Creator and his Historical Context

On February 27, 1812, Manuel Belgrano (June 3, 1770 – June 20, 1820) inaugurated the "Independencia" artillery battery on the banks of the Paraná River, near the current city of Rosario. In that foundational act, he ordered that a flag of his creation be raised, taking the colors from the national cockade, recognized by the First Triumvirate on February 18, 1812. There is consensus among historians that the white and sky blue colors of the first patriotic ensign derive directly from that distinction.

The political context was delicate. The First Triumvirate, for reasons of apparent fidelity to King Ferdinand VII, prohibited Belgrano from using the flag on March 3, 1812, ordering him to replace it with the red and yellow one. However, Belgrano had already left to take charge of the Army of the North and did not learn of the order until June of that year. The flag created by Belgrano would finally be adopted as an official symbol by the General Constituent Congress of San Miguel de Tucumán on July 25 (or July 20, according to some historians) of 1816, the same body that declared national independence.

The date we commemorate, June 20, recalls the death of Manuel Belgrano in 1820. It was established as a National Holiday through Law No. 12.361 in 1938. Subsequently, Law No. 24.445 ordered its observance on the third Monday of the respective month, a modality currently regulated by Decree 1584/2010.

2. Evolution of Colors and Design

The colors and design of our patriotic ensign were not static. The symbolic evolution of the flag accompanies the very construction of the Nation. It is presumed that the first flag raised on February 27, 1812, was made up of two horizontal stripes: white on the top and sky blue (close to turquoise, according to the dyes available at the time) on the bottom.

Two flags used by the patriotic troops in 1812 were found in a church in the town of Macha (Bolivia). One of them has the central stripe of sky blue color and the other two white, which shows the variety of initial designs. The pennant used by the Army of the Andes, with vertical stripes, adds historical complexity. In 1818, the Inca Sun, also called "Sun of May", was incorporated, inspired by the engraving of the first Argentine coin ordered by the General Constituent Assembly of 1813. During the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, the federal armies used a flag with a darker blue to differentiate themselves from the unitarians, and the Federal League added a red trim to Belgrano's original flag.

A BBC report based on the opinion issued by the commission of specialists in Patriotic Symbols of the National Belgranian Institute (November 25, 2002) provided definitive clarity: originally, our ensign was white and sky blue, the same colors that made up the national cockade. The current official colors are cerulean (sky blue) for the upper and lower stripes, white for the central stripe, and golden yellow for the Sun.

3. Current Composition and Regulatory Framework

Decree No. 10302/1944 establishes in its second article the current official composition: "The Official Flag of the Nation is the flag with sun, approved by the 'Congress of Tucumán', meeting in Buenos Aires on February 25, 1818. It will be formed according to what was resolved by the same Congress on July 20, 1816, with the colors 'sky blue and white' with which General Belgrano created on February 27, 1812, the first patriotic ensign. The colors will be distributed in three horizontal bands, of equal size, two of them sky blue and one white in the middle. The figured Sun of the gold coin of eight escudos and the silver one of eight reales that is engraved on the first Argentine coin will be reproduced in the center of the white band, of the official flag, by law of the Sovereign General Constituent Assembly of April 13, 1813, with the thirty-two flaming and straight rays placed alternately and in the same position as observed in those coins. The color of the Sun will be golden yellow."

Regarding its use, Law No. 23.208 establishes that the Federal Government, Provincial Governments, as well as private individuals, have the right to use the Official Flag of the Nation, "always rendering the due respect and honor to it." Law No. 25.173, for its part, provides for the obligation to install the patriotic ensign in all access and exit points of the Argentine State, reinforcing its presence as an emblem of territorial sovereignty.

A significant milestone in the democratization of the symbol was Law No. 26.481 which, starting June 20, 2008, enabled the pledge to the flag by young people, adults and older adults who for various reasons could not do it at the time, recognizing that the symbolic bond with the patriotic ensign can be renewed at any stage of life.

4. The Flag as a Factor of Social Cohesion

National symbols fulfill a function that transcends the merely protocolar. Contemporary research in social psychology shows that group identity symbols, such as flags, increase perceived cohesion and make collectivities appear more unified and psychologically real (see study on group identity symbols). This function was particularly relevant in 1812, when the population of the United Provinces was diverse and dispersed, and it remains so today in a society facing centrifugal tensions.

The flag, as a symbol of unity, operates in multiple dimensions. On the individual level, it activates a sense of belonging that reduces the perception of isolation. On the collective level, it facilitates cooperation between people who do not know each other but share a common identity. Exposure to symbols that evoke shared values can help mitigate polarization and strengthen the social fabric.

The pledge to the flag, far from being an empty rite, constitutes a public commitment that activates mechanisms of personal responsibility. Studies on prosocial behavior indicate that publicly declared commitments increase the probability that people will act in accordance with the expressed values, generating a virtuous circle between symbolic identity and civic action.

5. Validity of the Belgranian Legacy

Manuel Belgrano did not only create our flag. He was a man of exceptional moral integrity and intellectual capacity, values that transcend his time and are projected as a model of citizenship. Lawyer, economist, journalist and military man, Belgrano embodied a comprehensive vision of public service that contemporary Argentina needs to recover. His insistence on providing the United Provinces with a symbol of their own —even disobeying orders that he considered contrary to the emancipatory project— reveals a profound understanding that political independence should be accompanied by symbolic independence.

The flag that flies today in public buildings, schools and Argentine homes is the result of more than two centuries of shared history. Honoring it is not an exercise in nostalgia, but an act of renewal of the social pact that unites us. As expressed in the current regulatory framework, "due respect and honor" must be rendered to it, a respect that manifests in the fulfillment of the norms that regulate it but also in daily civic conduct.

The National Historical Monument to the Flag, located in the city of Rosario on the banks of the Paraná —where Belgrano raised it for the first time— constitutes a physical reminder of that foundational act. Visiting that space, whether in person or virtually, is to connect with the origin of a symbol that represents all Argentines.

📚 Links of Interest

• National Historical Monument to the Flag
• 360° Virtual Tour to the Flag Monument
• Law No. 23.208 - Patriotic Symbols
• BBC: The true colors of the first Argentine flag
• The national flag of the Argentine Republic (National Library of Teachers)
• General Archive of the Nation