// Workers AI · dad joke modeDid the 2007 Chilean Military Parade march to a different drum?
| 2007 Chilean Military Parade | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 September 2007 |
| Venue | O'Higgins Park |
| Locations | Santiago, Chile |
| Country | Chile |
| Participants | Approximately 7,000 military and police personnel |
The 2007 Chilean Military Parade was held at O'Higgins Park in Santiago on 19 September 2007 to commemorate the Day of the Glories of the Army. Presided over by President Michelle Bachelet, the military parade involved approximately 7,000 personnel from the Chilean Armed Forces and Carabineros de Chile.[1][2]
The ceremony was characterized by increased female participation in the armed forces, including the first appearance of female officer cadets from the Arturo Prat Naval Academy. It also featured the final military-parade flypast of the Mirage Pantera before its retirement from the Chilean Air Force, the participation of indigenous representatives in the opening ceremony, and the first participation of a foreign military band.[3]
Background
[edit]The parade was the second presided over by Bachelet and the first attended by José Goñi as Minister of National Defence.[4] Contemporary sources differed on the number of participants: Cooperativa reported 6,965 personnel—3,338 Army, 1,230 Air Force, 1,200 Navy and 1,196 Carabineros—while Emol reported 7,164, principally due to a higher figure for the naval contingent.[1][2]
Female participation was one of the principal features of the ceremony. The Army included approximately 500 women, the Air Force more than 70 female cadets and Carabineros 85 female officer candidates. The Navy included 35 female cadets among the 478 members of the Arturo Prat Naval Academy contingent, marking their first participation in the parade; they marched integrated with their male counterparts. The Naval Polytechnic Academy also included two female sections.[3]
Another feature was the scheduled farewell appearance of the Mirage Pantera fighter-bombers, which were due to leave Air Force service on 31 December, alongside their F-16 replacements. International participation included a 35-member Canadian military band and military representatives from Canada, the United States and Ecuador.[2]
Preparations included several rehearsals at O'Higgins Park. On 10 September, eleven horses of the Granaderos Armoured Cavalry Regiment broke loose during preparations involving its historical Krupp artillery battery, injuring five soldiers and four horses.[5]
Parade
[edit]Bachelet arrived at O'Higgins Park shortly before 15:00 accompanied by Defence Minister José Goñi. Following military honours, the traditional cueca and chicha en cacho ceremony was held. Representatives of the Mapuche, Quechua and Rapa Nui peoples subsequently greeted the president, in what contemporary coverage described as their first inclusion in this part of the ceremony.[6][7]
At 15:37, General Gonzalo Santelices Cuevas, commander of the presenting forces, requested presidential authorization to begin the parade. The march-past opened with the Military School, followed by the other service academies. The Arturo Prat Naval Academy included its 35 female cadets for the first time, while the main naval echelon, commanded by Rear Admiral Enrique Merino Mackenzie, comprised two sailor battalions, a Marine battalion, military bands and two female sections.[3]
The Air Force presentation included the Halcones, followed by the farewell appearance of the Mirage Pantera. At approximately 16:35, seven Mirages flew over the ellipse before being succeeded by F-16 fighters from Aviation Groups No. 3 and No. 8, based at Iquique and Antofagasta respectively.[8]
International participation included 35 musicians from the Canadian Army's Royal 22nd Regiment, reported as the first foreign military band to participate in the parade. Carabineros also included foreign officers undertaking professional studies in Chile. The Army contingent included a 77-member historical company of the Chacabuco Regiment in War of the Pacific-era uniforms, the presidential Lanceros escort and historical Krupp artillery pieces.[2]
Mounted Army formations closed the march-past. At 17:35, Santelices reported its conclusion to Bachelet, who congratulated the participating forces.[8] The ceremony took place without major incidents, although shortly before it began Carabineros detained ten housing-debt protesters near the event.[6]
Following the ceremony, naval formations rendered honours at the Plaza de la Ciudadanía, while the Naval Academy later joined the other service academies in a parade in Las Condes.[3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Siete mil efectivos de las Fuerzas Armadas rinden honores al Ejército". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Más de 7 mil uniformados desfilarán en la Parada Militar". Emol (in Spanish). 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Armada en Parada Militar 2007" (in Spanish). Chilean Navy. 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ "Bachelet se prepara a encabezar una nueva Parada Militar". El Clarín (in Spanish). 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ "Ejército precisa que caballos desbocados del Parque O'Higgins fueron 11 y no 100". Emol (in Spanish). Orbe. 10 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Presidenta dio inicio a la Parada Militar en medio de aplausos". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ "Fuerzas Armadas ya desfilan en la Elipse del Parque O'Higgins". Emol (in Spanish). 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Despedida de aviones Mirage marca la Parada Militar". Emol (in Spanish). 19 September 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
