Independence Day (of Ecuador)

It was on a May 24th that an army of brave men led by General Antonio José de Sucre fought the battle against the Spanish troops that were the last representatives of a merciless force that for centuries had subjugated the original owners of this land and plundered its resources in order to quench the thirst for gold of the Spanish empire.

Ecuador as such was yet to exist but cities such as Guayaquil and Cuenca were free already and only Quito remained. Sucre was Simón Bolívar's most trusted and valued ally and it was Sucre who was entrusted with the difficult task of taking over the last Spanish stronghold in what would become Ecuador years latter.  Attacking from upward Pichincha mount, Sucre's forces got the upper hand but  it was only after hours of a terrible battle that finally the Spanish soldiers were defeated and Quito was freed. With Quito now a free city, Bolivar could march unopposed to the south in order to expel the Spanish from Peru thus sealing the independence of this part  of Latin America.
Though Ecuador really began its existence when in 1831 we separated from Colombia and Venezuela (that by then were united in a country called La Gran Colombia) it is May 24th the date we have chosen to remember as the day when we became independent.