"Mi Bandera" - Filipino Patriotic Song in Spanish (1919) [NATIONAL FLAG DAY SPECIAL]

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ON THIS DAY (May 28, 1898) The Battle of Alapan (Filipino: Labanan sa Alapan, Spanish: Batalla de Alapan) was fought on May 28, 1898, and was the first military victory of the Filipino Revolutionaries led by Emilio Aguinaldo after his return to the Philippines from Hong Kong. After the American naval victory in the Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo returned from exile in Hong Kong, reconstituted the Philippine Revolutionary Army, and fought against the Spanish troops in a garrison in Alapan, Imus, Cavite. The battle lasted for five hours, from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

After the victory at Alapan, Aguinaldo unfurled the Philippine flag for the first time, and hoisted it at the Teatro Caviteño in Cavite Nuevo (present-day Cavite City) in front of Filipino revolutionaries and more than 270 captured Spanish troops. A group of American sailors of the US Asiatic Squadron also witnessed the unfurling.

Flag Day is celebrated every May 28 in honor of this battle. This day also marks the start of the national Independence Day celebrations, as well as of the province-wide Kalayaan Festival celebrated all over Cavite province, honoring the province's role in the achievement of national independence.

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"Mi Bandera" is a Filipino patriotic march celebrating the Philippine flag. It was composed by Fransisco Buencamino in 1919, in celebration of the repealing of the Flag Law which banned the display of the Philippine flag and other nationalist symbols during the early years of American occupation. Spanish lyrics were written by Alberto Campos.