Overview

• Enrique Ernesto Febbraro proposed July 20 as a friendship celebration after witnessing the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 and sent about a thousand letters worldwide
• Buenos Aires province formalized the date with Decree 235/79 in 1979, and Lomas de Zamora was later dubbed the provincial capital of friendship
• The United Nations officially designated July 30 as the International Day of Friendship in 2011 to foster inclusion, peace and mutual solidarity
• Several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Spain, maintain July 20 observances, while others adopt the UN’s July 30 date
• The coexistence of local and international Friendship Day celebrations underscores how cultural history—from lunar milestones to UN campaigns—shapes global commemorations