Happy Birthday to Panama!

Estonian folk dance group performing. *Photo from Wikipedia February 24 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918. Following centuries of successive Teutonic, Danish, Swedish, and Russian rule, Estonians experienced a national awakening that culminated in independence from the Russian Empire towards the end of World War I. In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian revolutions, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued in February 1918. The Estonian War of Independence ensued on two fronts between the newly proclaimed state and Bolshevist Russia to the east and the Baltic German forces

The Portuguese School of Díli, the capital and largest city of East Timor. *Photo from Wikipedia May 20 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of East Timor from Indonesia in 2002. East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until November 28, 1975, when the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) declared the territory’s independence. Nine days later, it was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia’s 27th province the following year. The Indonesian occupation of East Timor was characterized by a highly violent decades-long conflict between separatist

Tango dancers during the World tango dance tournament held in Buenos Aires, the capital and most populous city of Argentina. *Photo from Wikipedia July 9 is Argentina’s Independence Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the United Provinces of South America by the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. Written history began with the arrival of Spanish chroniclers in the expedition of Juan Díaz de Solís in 1516 to the Río de la Plata, which marks the beginning of Spanish domination in this region. In 1776 the Spanish Crown established the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, an umbrella of