MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spontaneous ovation and acknowledgement for Malvinas veterans during Bicentenary celebrations

As veterans approached the box with authorities, thousands that had turned out for the event started to applaud them, as the crowd shouted “Argentina, Argentina”

Malvinas veterans received a huge ovation and applause when they marched in Buenos Aires closing the main parade that concluded two days of festivities and speeches across Argentina to celebrate the bicentennial of the country's declaration of independence on 9 July 1816.

 The main event took off in Humahuaca in the northern province of Jujuy where president Mauricio Macri, ministers and other officials completed a vigil on the night of Friday 8 July to receive 9 July. It was followed in Tucuman, at the Historic House where the independence declaration took place in 1816, and Macri and the governors signed a symbolic statement, ahead of the next century in support of dialogue, peaceful coexistence and ending injustice.

Finally on Sunday in Buenos Aires there was a military parade including visiting military bands from countries of the region plus the US, Spain, Italy, France and Morocco. The display also included tango and other typical music from the River Plate.

But the most emotive moment was when the Malvinas veterans marched closing the parade. Some in uniform, others in plain clothes but all displaying medals, flags reading “Malvinas Argentinas” and signs identifying their provinces, while relatives and children accompanied them. This generated an immediate outburst of support.

As the veterans approached the box with authorities, thousands that had turned out for the event started to applaud them, some broke lines and embraced with the former combatants while the crowd shouted “”Argentina, Argentina“, ”Motherland, Motherland“, ”Heroes, heroes“, and in the background the ”Malvinas march“ accompanied the parade.

All the Buenos Aires media coincided that the reaction of the public towards the veterans was as unexpected as touching, and also surprised the same former combatants.
So were some of the banners, some quite specific: ”Malvinas, 34 years since the recovery 1982/2016; because they belong to us we shall return“, likewise, ”heroes yesterday, today and tomorrow“.

”For years we had been expecting this reconciliation with public opinion, it was really moving and make us particularly proud”, said one of the veterans.

However there were also some inconvenient moments: this happened when a Malvinas veteran commando by the name of Aldo Rico was identified by the crowd which immediately rejected him and started to boo. Rico in 1987 and 1988 headed two military uprisings against elected president Ricardo Alfonsin, which were finally contained but at a cost for the budding democratic system and institutions.