| R 344 | 
| 2024 -- S 3129 Enacted 06/04/2024  | 
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N | 
| CELEBRATING THE 214TH ANNIVERSARY OF COLOMBIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY ON JULY 20TH OF 2024 | 
Introduced By: Senators Cano, Acosta, Felag, Ujifusa, Gu, Picard, McKenney, F. Lombardi, Britto, and Tikoian  | 
| Date Introduced: June 04, 2024 | 
| WHEREAS, In 1499, the Spanish arrived in what is now Colombia and founded the first | 
| permanent settlement in 1510, as part of Spain's colonial empire in the Americas; and | 
| WHEREAS, In the 1800s, as Napoleon began invading many European countries, | 
| including Spain, patriots in Colombia and all over South America rose in rebellion against their | 
| Spanish rulers; and | 
| WHEREAS, Cartagena, first declared its independence from Spain before the actual | 
| country itself did so. Eventually, when Bogotá rebelled on July 20th, 1810, the Vice Royalty of | 
| New Granada was forced to grant a temporary independence from Spain, which became the first | 
| step in the process of Colombia earning permanent independence, and culminated with the Battle | 
| of Boyacá in 1819, where Simón Bolívar triumphantly liberated New Granada, which is now | 
| Colombia, and secured the eventual independence of northern South America; and | 
| WHEREAS, Today, Independence Day in Colombia is celebrated with parades and | 
| marches throughout the country, much like the 4th of July is celebrated in the United States; and | 
| WHEREAS, Colombia's Independence Day falls only a couple weeks after America's | 
| Independence Day celebration, which is relevant and fitting because the two nations have so | 
| much in common; and | 
| WHEREAS, Both the United States and Colombia gained their independence through | 
| patriots rallying against a distant monarchy, and the first President of each new country was the | 
| General who had united the people during its liberation; and | 
| WHEREAS, Both countries were also built on the premise that liberty is an unalienable | 
| right and both have a deep commitment to a more peaceful world; now, therefore be it | 
| RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby joins our Colombian | 
| American friends and neighbors in commemorating and celebrating Colombia's 214 years of | 
| Independence on July 20th of 2024; and be it further | 
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to | 
| transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Colombian American Cultural Society | 
| (CACS) and Colombia en Rhode Island. | 
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| LC006169 | 
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