Today is Landing of the 33 Patriots Day, a public holiday in Uruguay. It commemorates the return of Juan Lavelleja and his 33 exiled Uruguayan fighters in 1825, who took an oath to free Uruguay from Brazilian control. In 1820, the region’s anticolonial hero, José Gervasio Artigas was forced into exile to Argentina, and by 1822, Banda Oriental (as Uruguay was then known) had become a province of Brazil following its independence from Portugal. in 1825, a group of Uruguayan fighters who had been exiled with Artigas returned under the leadership of Juan Antonio Lavalleja, a compatriot of José Gervasio Artigas. They crossed the Plata river landing on Agraciada Beach on the eastern side on April 19th. There they planted a flag of blue, white and red horizontal bars, colors associated with the Banda Oriental and took an oath to fight for independence for Uruguay. In August 1825, Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil, instigating the Argentina- Brazil War. The conflict lasted until August 1828, when a British negotiated a resolution to the war that led to Brazil recognizing Uruguay’s independence.
On this day in 1982, Vangelis was at No.1 on the US album chart with Chariots Of Fire, he later also won an Oscar for the album for best original score. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a-HfNE3EIo
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