The history of Argentina’s flag, which dates back to 1812, is wrapped in a curious mix of revolutionary fighting for independence from Spain and Incan sun worship.  The Argentina flag with seal has three horizontal bands; the top and bottom ones are light blue, and the middle is white. The Argentine flag colors’ meaning is disputed.  Some say the white represents silver.

Early conquistadors named the country Argentina after the Latin word Argentinum, meaning silver, thinking that the region contained vast amounts of the precious metal. The blue bands may represent the sky, the waters of Argentina’s Rio de la Plata, or the blue used by the Spanish royal house of Bourbon on their coat of arms. Observing the flag, our gaze is immediately attracted to its center, where we find its most striking feature: a human face wearing a neutral expression inside a gold disc with straight and wavy rays emitting from its center, representing a sun. The sun, named el sol de mayo (the sun of May) after Argentina’s May revolution, which eventually lead to the nation’s independence from Spain, is a national emblem.