Simon Bolivar was born on July 24, 1783 in Caracas, Venezuela He is known throughout Latin America "The liberator because of his fight for independence from Spain. He led the armies that freed Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama. He is memorialized in many ways, but two countries celebrate his birthday every July 24th- venezuela and Ecuador. On that day, schools and most general businesses are closed and there are military parades and government ceremonies. But the malls are open and people usually use the holiday to go shopping