MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tall ships parade in Punta del Este; Mujica invited to a reception in ARA Libertad

ARA Libertad will host Mujica and Argentine ambassador Dovena

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica is scheduled to attend a reception on Saturday at Argentina's tall ship Libertad, which together with several similar vessels is participating in the '2014 Latin American Sails' tour of thirteen Latin American and Caribbean ports, and on Friday arrived to Punta del Este.

 Mujica and other members of his government will be hosted by Argentine ambassador ante Dante Dovena on board the flagship of the Argentine navy, as part of the current rapprochement policy of Uruguay with the administration of President Cristina Fernandez.

The flagship Libertad which is also a naval school vessel is carrying 24 Uruguayan cadets on their graduation world tour, arrived from Brazil and is scheduled on Monday to leave for Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata for a big sea parade.

Argentine-Uruguayan relations have been strained over several issues but following the recovery of President Cristina Fernandez from her health condition there has been an attempt from both sides to mend fences

The '2014 Latin American Sails' event has been organized by Argentina to celebrate the bicentenary of the naval battle of Montevideo (17 May, 1814), when an incipient Argentine squadron, under the command of Irish born Guillermo Brown, defeated close to Montevideo the Spanish fleet, thus ending Spain's colonial dominance in the region.

The battle is also considered the founding event for the Argentine navy. Montevideo at the time was the Spanish navy's main outpost and responsible for all of the South Atlantic.

Despite the naval combat, the Uruguayan nation still had to fight off Portugal, their successors, Brazil and even Buenos Aires to be able to consolidate with England's sponsoring, as a free independent country.

Tall ships from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela are participating of the celebration which will call at thirteen ports ending in Veracruz, Mexico.

The participating tall ships are Argentina's ARA “Libertad”; “Cisne Branco” from Brazil; “Esmeralda”, from Chile; “Guayas”, Ecuador; “Gloria”, Colombia; “Simón Bolívar” from Venezuela. The group will be later joined by other units from Argentina's surface fleet. Mexico's Cuauhtémoc is scheduled to join later in the tour.