Anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas fall on October 12th. The landing is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza in many countries in Latin America, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día de la Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain, as Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity) in Argentina, as Day of the Americas in Belize, and as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Uruguay.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonizer, born in the Republic of Genoa, in what is today northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents. Those voyages, and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola, initiated the Spanish colonization of the New World.

This happened during his first voyage: a lookout on one of the Columbus' ships, the Pinta, spotted land about 2:00 on the morning of 12 October, and immediately alerted the rest of the crew with a shout. Thereupon, the captain of the Pinta, verified the discovery and alerted Columbus by firing a cannon. This day will be later commemorated as day the Americas were discovered by inhabitants of Old World.