Another Presidents' Day

Here in the U.S., Presidents Day honors the accomplishments of George Washington, our first president, and Abraham Lincoln, arguably our most important. The most important President in South American history was Venezuelan Simon Bolivar (1783 – 1830), commonly known as El Liberador (the liberator). He was instrumental in creating the Republic of Colombia, which included parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, and also contributed significantly to the independence from Spain of Bolivia and Peru.

His influence was, and continues to be felt and celebrated through the South American continent; his legacy in the history of Latin America can’t be overestimated. Some remaining tokens are that the currencies of Bolivia and Venezuela both bear his name; almost every city in Colombia and Venezuela had a square named after him, featuring a bust or statue of him, and he has his own President’s Day in both Ecuador and Venezuela. Even here in the US his presence hasn’t gone unnoticed: American towns in Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia, are named in his honor, as well as counties, statues, streets, a high school, a mountain and a peninsula; you can visit his statue right here in New York at the 6th Ave entrance to Central Park .

Let’s see if I remember to mention this again on July 24th, when it’s his own President’s Day.

Graciela