deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The Argentine Republic (Argentina). The country in South America that shares the Southern Cone of SA with Chile.

It also claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and a few other islands. It’s name is not from Spanish, but was originally from the Italian for ‘made of silver.’

Argentina covers most of the southern portion of the continent. The world’s eighth largest country, Argentina occupies an area more extensive than Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas combined. It encompasses immense plains, deserts, tundra, and forests, as well as tall mountains, rivers, and thousands of miles of ocean shoreline. Argentina also claims a portion of Antarctica, as well as several islands in the South Atlantic, including the British-ruled Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas).

The flag is a simple, well designed ‘good flag.’ It is three equal horizontal bands of blue and white. There is debate over the significance over the colors. It first appeared in 1812 as a battle flag during the Argentine war of Independence.

The pale blue (celeste) cockades provide, the colors on the flag. [A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. The word cockade derives from the French cocarde, from Old French coquarde, feminine of coquard (vain, arrogant), from coc (cock), of imitative origin. The earliest documented use was in 1709]

Cockades as worn by patriots in Argentina in May 1810, when the Spanish viceroy in Buenos Aires yielded authority to the local government, and the uniforms worn by Argentines in 1806, when the British attacked Buenos Aires, may have been the origin of the celeste-white-celeste horizontally striped flag first hoisted on Feb. 12, 1812, by Gen. Manuel Belgrano. On July 9, 1816, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, proclaimed its independence from Spain. However, it was not until Feb. 25, 1818, that the golden “Sun of May” was added to the centre of the flag in reference to the events of May 1810, when the sun supposedly shone through the clouds.

In 1816 the sun was added to the center of the flag. It underwent a few changes but the overall theme has not changed. In 1861 the current flag was adopted and has not changed.

Why would a nerdie Vexillologist from Denver have Argentina flying today? A few years back Denise became fascinated with the story, the Broadway Play and subsequent film about Evita Perón. Even a shy singer like my girlfriend hummed and sang “Don’t cry for me Argentina”, over and over.

But, even more compelling, it was the first flag one of my grandkids asked me to get for them. He still has it hanging up in his bedroom these many years later.

Why did Ryan ask for this flag? Because of his favorite soccer (aka football) player.