The Guatemala flag - Symbol of a Nation
The Guatemala flag - Symbol of a Nation
Imagine the emotions you feel when you're at a sporting event or watching a parade and your country's flag passes.
Pride. Nostalgia. Patriotism.
The feelings are the same for Guatemalans everywhere when they see the Guatemala flag flying high, national anthem playing, with the crowd at attention.
Symbols are important to all of us, and to Guatemalans, the flag of Guatemala evokes strong feelings that are hard to hide. The Guatemala flag you see is the most current in a series of flags starting from the time after gaining independence from Spain, when Guatemala was a part of the United Provinces of Central America, also known as the Central American Federation (Federación de Estados Centroamericanos in Spanish).
What does the flag of Guatemala look like?
The Guatemala flag colors are blue and white, blue on the ends and white in the middle, where the coat of arms (escudo de armas) is. The flag is a rectangle made to a scale of 5:8, which simply means, for example, that for every 5 feet tall a flag is, it is 8 feet wide/long.
What does the flag of Guatemala represent?
The white stripe in the middle represents purity, peace, integrity, strength, and light. Geographically, white in the middle represents the land of Guatemala surrounded by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The blue stripes represent justice, truth, and fortitude. In addition, blue also represents the color of the sky that covers all of Guatemala.
You may wonder, "What does the flag of Guatemala say?"
The emblem in the middle of the flag says "Libertad, 15 de septiembre de 1821" or "Liberty, September 15, 1821."
The official description of the coat of arms (the emblem in the middle of the flag) is: a shield with two rifles and two golden swords surrounded by laurel branches, on a pale blue background. The center will be covered by a scroll, which will contain the following phrase written in gold, "Libertad, 15 de septiembre de 1821"; with a quetzal on the upper part as a symbol of the independence and autonomy of the Nation.
Spanish text, from Decree 33, November 18, 1871:
"Las armas de la República serán: un escudo con dos rifles y dos espadas de oro enlazadas con ramas de laurel, en campo celeste claro. El centro estará cubierto con un pergamino, que contendrá la siguiente leyenda en letras de oro: libertad, 15 de septiembre de 1821; figurando en la parte superior un quetzal como símbolo de la independencia y autonomía de la Nación."
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Guatemala Flag History
The current flag of Guatemala was adopted in 1871 after a series of other flags dating from their break from Spain in 1821. Click on any flag to see a larger version.
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| 1821-1823 | 1823-1824 |
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| 1824-1839 | 1839-1843 |
 |  |
| 1843-1851 | 1851-58 |
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| 1858-1871 | 1871 - present |
So next time you're in a public place or at a large event in Guatemala, or even in another country with a significant Guatemalan population, look around for the the flag. There, you'll find a group of people proud of their heritage and nation.
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What Other Visitors Have Said
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