Columbus day

As we all know, Cristobal Colón discovered America on October 12, 1492.

Cristóbal Colón

As we all know, Christopher Columbus discovered America on October 12, 1492. He landed with his men on Guananí Island in the Bahamas archipelago, establishing a cultural bridge between the peoples of the Americas and Europe. This historic event culminated in the so-called "meeting of two worlds." However, it wasn't until 1892 that Queen Regent Maria Cristina of Habsburg-Lorraine issued a Royal Decree in San Sebastián, at the proposal of President Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, declaring October 12 a national holiday in commemoration of the Discovery of America.

The October 12th holiday coincides with the celebration in honor of the Virgin of Pilar, patron saint of Zaragoza and Spain. She is also the patron saint of the Benemérita and patron saint of Hispanic Heritage.

The existence of America was not revealed on October 12, 1492, as Christopher Columbus and those involved in the historical significance of this event always believed he had reached the Indies precisely in Cipango (Japan), unaware that he had stumbled upon the American continent. Columbus believed the Earth was spherical, so he could therefore sail eastward to Asia. He didn't know that the Earth was much larger and that a whole new continent awaited him. Thus, he set sail from the port of Huelva on August 3, 1492, with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María. Two months later, he reached an island he called San Salvador, which is now part of the Bahamas. After Columbus, other voyages were organized, financed by the Spanish Crown.

It was also called the Day of the Race. This term was first used in a text distributed by the Ibero-American Union of Madrid in January 1913. It was the idea of ​​its president, former minister and former mayor of Madrid Faustino Rodríguez San Pedro, with the aim of uniting all Spanish-speaking regions. The idea caught on, and in the early decades of the 20th century, some Latin American countries established October 12th as a holiday, a few using the name Day of the Race. However, today in many Latin American countries, October 12th has come to be known as "Indigenous Resistance Day," or some of its variants.

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