Simon Bolivar Day: The Liberator Whose Shadow Could Not Be Killed by the Empire July 24th. In Ecuador, this day is not just a date in the calendar. It is the day when the country stops to remember the man who gave it freedom. His name is Simon Bolivar. The \"Liberator.\" The one who reshaped the map of South America, broke the Spanish empire, and dreamed of a single continent without borders. But nearly two hundred years have passed. The world and Ecuador have changed. Has the figure of Bolivar remained something more than a monument on the central square? Or has this day become a beautiful tradition devoid of its former fire? Let's try to find out. The Man Who Could Not Lose Simon Bolivar was born in 1783 in Caracas, in a wealthy family. He could have become a planter, lived comfortably, and not noticed what was happening around him. But he chose otherwise. He stood at the head of the struggle for the independence of the Spanish colonies at a time when it seemed desperate. In 1813, the National Congress of Venezuela declared him the Liberator — and he fully justified this title. Bolivar freed Venezuela, New Granada (today's Colombia and Panama), the province of Quito (modern Ecuador), and Peru. His comrade Antonio José de Sucre, acting under his instructions, routed the Spaniards in the Battle of Pichincha on May 24, 1822, ensuring the liberation of Quito and all Ecuadorian territory. Bolivar did not just fight — he created states. His name is the name of Bolivia. His dream was Great Colombia, a federation that would unite Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador. But the dream was shattered by reality. Internal contradictions, the ambitions of military leaders, the lack of a common identity — all this destroyed his project. In 1830, he stepped away from politics, sick and disillusioned, and soon died. But his idea of the unity of Latin America did not disappear. It remained in the blood of those who fought for freedom. Birthday Turned into a National Holiday July ... Read more