October 12th is Spanish National Day

Spain’s national day on 12th October is the day in 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered America and the day is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Our Lady of the Pillar, the patron saint of all Hispanic peoples and the Spanish Civil Guard.

King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía will preside at a military parade in Madrid where more than 3,000 soldiers will be on parade this year.

There is also a display by the Spanish Air Force aerobatics team, the ‘Patrulla Águila’, whose parachute team will land in Madrid’s Plaza de Neptuno carrying the Spanish flag.

The aim for the 2011 celebrations is for a more civic Fiesta Nacional, with free entry for the public to many museums, palaces and monuments in Madrid.

There will be free entrance to a number of palaces in Madrid, including the Madrid Royal Palace and the Palacio Real de El Pardo, and to the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

The Cervantes Institute on Calle Alcalá will host five concerts in the evening, where groups from different parts of Spain will be performing hip hop, electronic and rock in the co-official languages from their regions.

For further details read: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32256.shtml#ixzz1aPACBJIy