Flag of Argentina

Meaning and history of the flag of Argentina

The flag of Argentina consists of three equal horizontal stripes: light blue on top, white in the middle, and light blue on the bottom. At the center of the white stripe sits the Sun of May, a golden sun with a human face whose sixteen straight rays alternate with sixteen wavy ones. The sun refers to the one that, according to tradition, broke through the clouds during the May Revolution of 1810, the first step toward independence.

The flag was created by Manuel Belgrano on February 27, 1812, and first raised on the banks of the Paraná River in the city of Rosario. At first the version bearing the sun was reserved for official and military use, while the plain version was for civilian use. This distinction held for many years, though today both versions may be used freely by all citizens.

The light blue and white have several proposed origins: some historians link them to the colors of the House of Bourbon, others to the sky and clouds, and others to devotion to the Virgin Mary. Argentina's flag resembles those of Uruguay, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, all of which drew on the ideals of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata or the Central American Federation. The Sun of May also appears on Uruguay's flag.

You can view the flag of Argentina in high resolution above and download it in several sizes for personal, educational or reference use. To explore more, visit the full Argentina profile, its map, or the current local time in Buenos Aires.