Great Military Parade of Chile explained

For more than a century the Military Parade of Chile or Great Military Parade of Chile (Spanish: Gran Parada Militar de Chile or Parada Militar de Chile) has been a tradition within the Independence Day holidays in Chile.[1] It is held in Santiago, Chile's O'Higgins Park on September 19 yearly in honor of the Glories of the Chilean Army with a military parade involving not just the ground forces but by the rest of the Chilean Armed Forces: the Chilean Navy, the Chilean Air Force, and the Carabineros de Chile. It is also in honor of the anniversary of the formal inauguration on that day in 1810 of the First Government Junta, which witnessed the first military parade of the independent nation at the Plaza de Armas, Santiago. It is the final act of the national independence celebrations, which are broadcast through TV and the Internet and radio.

Per Law 2977 of 1915, Army Day is celebrated on the 19th of September in honor of the Army's role in the defense of the Chilean nation, thus the date is dedicated to the Chilean Army and is a national holiday. The parade, however, dates back to 1896, and parades have been held annually in the capital beginning in 1819.

Brief history

During the long Spanish era in Chile, whenever a new governor-general took office in Santiago, a military parade was called by the troops of the city garrison under the Spanish Army.

On Sept. 19, 1810, the formal inauguration of the First Government Junta took place in Santiago which saw the first ever military parade of the new nation.

Another military parade was held on September 28, 1819, in honor of the formal victory in the Chilean War of Independence with units of the Army of the Andes taking part. The parade would move to its present home in 1830 under President Tomas Ovalle, albeit in the fields of La Pampilla in the Santiago area, where the parade was held with the ceremonies ending in the Plaza de Armas with a Feu de joie. The parades, nicknamed "despejes" by the people, would take a new form in the years ahead.

In 1831, a military exercise was ordered by the government of President Joaquin Prieto on the Pampilla fields, which would witness the first ever parade on September 19 in the following year with Diego Portales taking the salute. The Pampilla area became its permanent home in 1842 when President Manuel Bulnes acquired lands in the area for the annual parades and military exercises, and was transformed into a military installation in 1845. It was turned into the O'Higgins Park (then the Cousiño Park) in 1873, thanks to the efforts of Luis Cousiño, who, inspired by the parks he had seen in Europe before, decided that he would help adapt it to the Chilean situation. He asked Manuel Arana to design it, who then added a Field of Mars to the design of the park for the annual military parades, and it has been held there ever since. Another big parade was held in 1884 as the War of the Pacific was then in its final months as the Army pushed on its final offensive.

The president day parade, in the Prussian manner, officially began on September 19, 1896, even through in the late 1880s the parades held at the Field of Mars at O'Higgins Park, thanks to the efforts of the Prussian military mission to Chile under Captain Emil Körner, showed signs of Prussianization and modernization little by little. With the victory in the Chilean Civil War, in which Körner and the pro-modernization officers supported the Congress, the Prussian practice began to be standardized. The parade of 1896 witnessed Chilean Army units parading in the German manner, per companies and troops at first, and later by battalions and squadrons. Two years later, as the German-trained artillery and cavalry made their walk, trot and gallop passes at the tribune one pass at a time, the goose step made its debut in the parade, with the Army NCO School being the first to adopt the practice that would later be the Chilean Army standard by the 1901 parade, which was also the first since conscription was formally introduced. The parade of 1902 was the first in which foreign contingents marched past; in celebration of the recently signed Pacts of May, representatives from the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic marched past at the tribune at the parade field for the first time. Despite the tragedies that happened in 1910 as the nation celebrated its centennial year, the parade that year went on as planned, with Emiliano Figueroa, then acting president, receiving the salute from the units of the army and the navy, in his first parade as chief executive.

The parade's September 19 date was officially sanctioned in 1915 as Chilean Army Day (Dia de las Glorias del Ejercito) per a presidential decree by President Ramón Barros Luco and Interior and Public Security Minister Pedro Nicolás Montenegro, then confirmed by Law 2977 by the National Congress, celebrating the Army, the first full day of the full independent nation, and the 1810 inauguration of its first government.[2] Barros Luco took the salute on that year's parade, the first since it was made official. It has remained the same ever since, with the latter additions of the Air Force and the Carabineros de Chile in the following years, and evolving with the changing times despite having cancelled twice in 1924 and 1973 and having been reduced to remote broadcasts in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (the parade of 1932 was held on September 17 for the only time in its history).

Timeline of parades since 1925

Expanded summary

The President of Chile, in his/her constitutional duty as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the principal guest of the national parade which is held every 19 September for over a century, not just as the principal parade celebrating the anniversary of Chilean independence, but also in recognition of the valuable contribution of the Army and the entire Armed Forces and Carabineros in defending the territorial integrity and ensuring the public security of the country. The parade is often held in the mid-afternoon hours, justified as many Chileans in the capital go out during the afternoon of the holiday period to celebrate with loved ones and friends at the O'Higgins Park where the parade has been held. At the stands fronting the Movistar Arena are members of the public, veterans of the armed forces and Carabineros, and families of the active duty personnel attending. Another stand at the north of the arena accommodates the public as well. At the central grandstand are representatives of the armed forces and Carabineros, military attaches to the republic and the diplomatic corps, guest military officers from NATO countries and from countries that also served with Chile in UN peacekeeping operations, the president of the Senate and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and congressional representatives and senators on the defense committees of both chambers, the Commanders of the Navy and Air Force, the Director General of the Carabineros, the National Director of the Gendarmerie and the Director General of the Investigations Police, the Minister of Interior and Public Security, the Minister of Justice and other cabinet ministers, the President of the Supreme Court, religious leaders and representatives of the mainland and Easter Island ethnic minorities.

Inspection and beginning of the parade

At around 1430h each of the regiments of military and police cadets from all three military academies and the Carabineros School assemble at the Champ de Mars, where at 1500h, as each of the academies' bands play the National Anthem of Chile, the President, together with the Commander of the Army and the Minister of National Defense, inspect each of the cadet regiments assembled as they present arms and execute eyes right, while under a mounted escort from the 1st Cavalry (Horse Guards) Regiment "Guard Grenadiers", with their light blue Prussian styled uniforms. The President rides a horse-drawn carriage or open top limousine provided by the presidential office during the inspection phrase. After the cadets have each been inspected, the escort turns around and stops at the central grandstand at the park where he or she departs from the carriage to meet the other dignitaries and the parade then orders arms, and led by the band of the Chilean Military Academy playing its anthem Penachos Rojos (Red Plumes), the military and police academies' cadets, later on in slope arms position, march off the field to prepare for the march past of the cadets later on, with the Corps of Cadets of the Military Academy and its regimental band and Corps of Drums, all wearing Prussian blue uniforms with pickelhaube helmets, female cadets included since 2007 (the bandsmen carry red plumes in the pickenhauben while the cadets and the officers carry white plumes), leading the way for the entire parade of more than 8,000 military and police personnel, including vehicles and aircraft.

A Cueca performance, done in the parade since 1952 by the "Gil Letelier" Huasco Club, is the prelude civil act preceding the military parade on the nation's principal military holiday. The club offers a "chicha en cacho" (grape chicha) drink to the principal guests before the dancing proper, with music provided by the club's folk ensemble.

Parade proper

Permission of the parade commander to the President for the march past proper in quick time

Following the performance an Army officer holding the rank of either a Major General or Lieutenant General and holding the appointment of Commanding General, Santiago Metropolitan Region National Defense Prefecture, who serves as the parade commander, begins the following exchange as he arrives on horseback (formerly on a military vehicle) in front of the central grandstand where the President is stationed to salute the entire parade, and salutes his sword.

Parade commander: Mr./Mrs. President, sir/ma'am, may I now have the permission to march past the parade in honor of the anniversary of the glories of the Chilean Army.

President: Permission granted sir, you may proceed.

Ending the salute, the parade commander returns to his place, fronting his general staff, which since 2012 has been entirely mounted on horseback, as the crowd clap in applause to the report of the parade commander.

March past of the cadet academies

Following the report, the training officer of the Corps of Drums of the Military Academy, upon noticing that the commander has ridden back to his position in the parade, then orders the Corps of Cadets for the march past in the following manner:

Corps of drums... Eyes... front!! Band and drums, ready!
Military Academy, attention on parade! Companies in line formation, in quick marking time, forward... march!

The Drum Major of the Corps of Drums of the Military Academy, acting on the orders of his superior officer, begins the parade with the Prussian Parademarsch der Spielleute by the Corps and at the signal of his mace it then goose steps to the tune of the Preußischer Lockmarsch as a transition to the march past piece, the drum and bugle majors and the band conductor signal the formation to start forming in review order, with band instruments now at the ready to commence playing. Following this, to the tune of the Radetzky March the band and drums, in German tradition, all turn to the left and form in review order, the drums forming two ranks followed by the buglers, goose stepping past the grandstand in the eyes right at the signal of the drum and bugle majors and the band conductor and halting in place in order that the percussion section will take post between the band and the buglers. At the final signal of the drum and bugle majors and the band conductor to commence playing, the band, since the parade of 2017, first plays the Army Triumphal March first performed in 1882 during the Chilean occupation of Lima during the War of the Pacific as the parade commander, his adjutant, the command bugler and the parade general staff all walk past the central grandstand in horseback, saluting their swords in the eyes right except the mounted staff officers. It is followed by the Corps of Cadets of the Military Academy as the band changes the tune to the aforementioned Radetzky March, which is its regimental march past tune. The academy superintendent and his staff, the commandant of cadets, and battalion and company commanders all walk past the grandstand mounted per the Prussian tradition, all while saluting their swords in the eyes right, while all its cadets, the colour guard and the officer instructors march in the goose step tradition pass the grandstand past the principal guests, the cadets executing eyes right at this point and the officer instructors facing front.

Each of the four academies, together with the armed forces contingents that follow them later, march past in the parade in a traditionally arranged order of precedence. Following the army cadets, the Arturo Prat Naval Academy, the Manuel Ávalos Prado Air Force Academy and the Carabinier School President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo all march past with their respective bands, field music and corps of cadets, with the same order as the Army's to commence their respective segments, and with their bands forming up in review order in like manner. The Naval Academy Band and Corps of Drums, following the Navy's British traditions, aside from the drum major and the band conductor, does not field a bugle major, while the Carabinier School's Corps of Cadets, following the German tradition, wears uniforms of cavalry officers in the 1870s, with riding boots and sabres, excepting the foreign officer cadets, which march past in advance of their fellow cadets and salute on the eyes right. The Corps of Drums of the Air Force Academy and the Carabinier School both march into position with a special march cadence of the drummers and buglers first led by the drum and bugle majors before their respective march past tunes are played by their respective bands. Following the march past of their respective academies, these bands reform in march past order following the lead of their respective contingents, goose step away from the grandstand and at a distance away from it stop playing at the signal of the conductor and section leaders.

March past music of the other cadet academies
Full order of the march past of the cadet academies

The parade march past order for the first part of the parade proper is organized into the following in march past order:

March past of the service branches of the Armed Forces and the Carabineros

Following the cadet academies, the service branches of the Armed Forces and the Carabineros then march past the stands in the second and final part of the parade proper. The order of march past precedence is the Navy's contingent first, followed by the Air Force, Carabineros and finally the Army itself, with their bands and corps of drums forming up in review order to play in front of the grandstand and later in march past order in like manner as in the military academies and with the same order as the Army's to commence their respective segments, however the Air Force segment begins only at the signal of the drum major of the Corps of Drums of the Air Force NCO School when its turn arrives. The mounted band, which forms the centerpiece of the much awaited parade grand finale, forms up in the old German mounted band tradition first in playing order and then into the march out order, in the former, the Band and bugles sound the traditional Paradepost der Kavallerie as the kettledrummers beat up first at the gallop past the grandstand, then at the trot at the north audience stands, and the into position between the two sections, all the while as the band and bugles form in review order on the trot and the crowd claps loud to cheer the band and kettledrummers on and to appreciate the hard work and training done by the mounted bandsmen, in the latter the Preußischer Präsentiermarsch (formerly Preußens Gloria) and then Los Viejos Estandartes is played as the band and bugles trot off the field, the crowd all the more applauding the effort made during this segment. In addition to the ground march past and mounted column, a parade mobile column (in special years) and fly past segment from each of the service branches of the Armed Forces and the Carabineros also take place as well.

March past music of the service branches' contingents
Full order of the march past of the service branches of the Armed Forces and the Carabineros

The parade march past order for the second part of the parade proper is organized into the following in march past order:

Should a mobile column be present:

Each of the units of the Army, Air Force and Carabineros that provide the column are to be organized into:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Day of the Glories of the Chilean Army in Chile in 2021 . Office Holidays. 2021-02-18. www.officeholidays.com.
  2. Web site: Law 2977 of 1915.. 9 March 2011 . . February 1, 1915.
  3. Web site: Chilean troops hold Great Military Parade in Santiago. 2021-02-18. www.efe.com. en.
  4. Web site: Cooperativa.cl. Canal 13 decidió no transmitir la Parada Militar. 2021-02-18. Cooperativa.cl. Spanish.

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