Sunday, June 30, 2013

Plaza de Mayo

Spanish Word of the Day
Sunday, June 30, 2013

plaza de mayo, noun
the Plaza de Mayo
All major cities have their iconic sites, such as Time Square and Red Square. One of the most famous places in Buenos Aires isla Plaza de Mayo, word for word: May Square.
It stands downtown, in front of the presidential palace. It is called Plaza de Mayo because it was in May 1810 that the events which led to the independence of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia from Spain were set in motion.
In recent history it is, sadly, most famous for las madres de la Plaza de Mayo and las abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo - themothers and grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. These are the mothers and grandmothers of los desaparecidos - the disappeared - the thousands of people who were murdered by the military regime in the late 1970s. As a protest they demonstrated silently in the Plaza de Mayo.


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