Same holiday, same basic principle (discovery of the Americas)….different view point.
Here in Ecuador they do not celebrate Christopher Columbus Day, instead on the 12th of February they celebrate Dia de la Raz. Day of the race.
Yes, we north Americans learned about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, but our country celebrates the man himself, Christopher Columbus. Here, it is a celebration from a different perspective.
You see, after Chris Columbus “discovered” the Americas, is when the Spanish conquistadors began to come to Central and South America. Although, they made their country (Spain) more powerful by gaining more land, they also didn’t do too nice of things to the people that were already here.
But, that is part of the past and it has changed the culture and lives and culture of the people of the here.
Dia de la Raza celebrates these changes, because they cannot be undone. Through the mixing of European and Indigenous cultures, the people that came after good ole Columbus have helped create a body of self sustaining people, proud of who they are.
So, this is the same holiday as ours, just with a multicultural perspective that we should embrace (and a different name), because believe it or not people, our country is multicultural too. : )
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