Pepe's Chile

A Gringo's Culture Guide to Chile

  • Home
  • Culture
  • Travel
  • Pesos
  • Facts
  • About
  • Book
  • Español
Home » Chilean Flag Day – July 9th

Chilean Flag Day – July 9th

Pilar asks:

When does Chile celebrate Flag Day?

Flag Day is celebrated on July 9th of every year. According to icarito.cl:

Flag day, celebrated every July 9th, corresponds to the anniversary of the battle of La Concepción where 77 Chileans, under the command of Captain Ignacio Carrera Pinto, died in a small Peruvian town in 1882 during the Pacific War.

The battle of La Concepción is considered by Chileans to be one of the most dramatic acts of the Pacific War. It happened July 9-10, 1882 in the Peruvian town of La Concepción.

The Chilean garrison consisted of 77 young men between 16 and 18 years old. They resisted for two days the attack of two thousand Peruvian soldiers that ultimately led to the death of the entire contingent.

The courage showed by these men, that heroically kept the Chilean flag aloft, led to the 9th of July officially being declared “the Day of the National Flag” in 1974.

You can read more about the Chilean flag and the Chilean flag history on my site.

Comments

  1. JORGE says

    December 4, 2007 at 9:03 pm

    Hi Pepe!!
    Hey great page man! I love returning to this page every now and then to check out what’s new (love the biggest pool in the world). In regards to this story, I don’t know how true it is. I think it depends on which side of the border you hearing it from. According to the Peruvian commander’s diary, the last 5 soldiers died in a public execution (more or less lynched by the angry mob of peasants in the town). According to the diary, the Peruvian soldiers tried to save the Chilean soldiers to no avail. The myth in Chile about a last stand is a bit unbelievable thinking about it now at age 42. How can they teach us this at school when there were no ‘Chilean’ witnesses to tell the ‘real’ story? Kind of strange don’t you think? By the way, I am Chilean and a proud one at that (even my great grandfather fought in this war). However, it would be nice to have the story right.
    Great page!! Congrats once again.
    Jorge

  2. Pepe says

    December 5, 2007 at 12:44 am

    Jorge,
    Thanks for your comment. Every country tells their history from their own perspective. The Chileans firmly believe the story I presented, that’s why they celebrate the holiday. I’m sure those in Peru have a different angle, I just couldn’t find it easily in my searching.

  3. JORGE says

    December 6, 2007 at 9:44 pm

    that’s right.Everybody has a version. As they say also, ‘History is always written by the winners’.
    Once again my congratulations on you fun web site (I love the flea section).

Traveling to Chile?

Learn the secrets of Chilean culture that every gringo should know:

Click to see the book

Get your culture book today

Traveling to Chile?

culture book

Find out what you should know before landing in Chile.

The Gringo’s Culture Guide to Chile is designed to help you understand Chileans, their culture, food, language, and daily life so you can enjoy your time in this beautiful country and not be blindsided by culture shock.

Read The Gringo’s Culture Guide to Chile

Copyright © 1995-2022 Joe Rawlinson. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy