Homages to the Mexican flag will be paid across the length and breadth of the nation on Friday, February 24—Dia de la Bandera.
Ceremonies in the Plaza de la Liberacion in downtown Guadalajara start at 8 a.m., featuring students selected by their schools for their high academic grades.
The concept of fixing a special date to honor the flag arose in early 1930’s at the suggestion of a Mexican army officer, but the idea didn’t catch on right away. It was Mexico City bank employee Ricardo Benito Ramirez Spindola who inadvertently set the wheels in motion on February 24, 1935, when he set up a flag display on the doorstep of his home, and in the company of some work companions, mounted a color guard to mark the anniversary of the Plan de Iguala.
The commemoration was repeated with more fanfare the following year and by 1937 turned into a full-fledged public celebration held at the foot of a statue of Independence hero Vicente Guerrero. Día de la Bandera was declared an official national holiday in 1940.
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