Flag of the Department of Valle del Cauca
Encyclopedia
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
of the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n Department
Departments of Colombia
Colombia is an unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments and a Capital District . Each department has a Governor and a Department Assembly , elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods...
of Valle del Cauca
Valle del Cauca Department
Valle del Cauca is a department of Colombia. It is in the western side of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean, and it is considered one of the most important departments in the Republic of Colombia. Its capital is Santiago de Cali...
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History
The origin of the flag is attributed to General José María Cabal who was in charge of the independentist forces in Valle del Cauca and who in a dream saw virgin Mary wearing a celestial blue and white mantle. The flag was used on June 6, 1811 by the confederate cities of AnsermaAnserma, Caldas
Anserma is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Caldas.* *...
, Buga
Buga
Buğa or Boğa means "bull" in Turkic languages, also transliterated as Bugha, or Buqa . It may refer to one of the following persons.*Tala Buga, the khan of Golden Horde between 1287 and 1291...
, Cali
Calì
Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...
, Caloto
Caloto, Cauca
Caloto is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia....
, Cartago
Cartago, Valle del Cauca
Cartago is a city in southwestern Colombia, about 187 miles west of Bogotá. It is in the extreme northern portion of the Valle del Cauca Department. It is located very close to the city of Pereira, about a 20 minute drive. It is the fourth largest city in Valle after Cali, Palmira, and Tuluá...
, Iscuandé
Santa Barbara, Nariño
Santa Barbara is a town and municipality in the Nariño Department, Colombia....
, Popayán
Popayán
Popayán is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between Colombia's Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range...
and Toro
Toro, Valle del Cauca
Toro is a city and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. http://www.toro-valle.com Pagina Municipality On the road north of the department is Toro, founded on June 3, 1573 territory of warm weather...
when these declared independence from the rest of the country.
It was officially adopted on December 31, 1960 by the Department Assembly of Valle del Cauca
Department Assembly of Valle del Cauca
The Department Assembly of Valle del Cauca is the department assembly of the Colombian Department of Valle del Cauca. The assembly is part of the Colombian legislative branch of government at a Provincial level and its main function is to debate, approve or change the local ordinances.-History:The...
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Criticism
The flag and its significance has generated controversy in Valle del Cauca for its pallid colors and for its religious connotation (Colombia self-proclaimed secularity in the Colombian Constitution of 1991Colombian Constitution of 1991
The Political Constitution of Colombia, better known as the Constitution of 1991, is the current governing document of the Republic of Colombia. Promulgated on July 4 of 1991 , it replaced the Constitution of 1886...
). The flag was adopted by ordinance and not by popular plebiscite, as some argue the colors also misrepresented the people and things of Valle del Cauca. Painter Omar Rayo
Omar Rayo
Omar Rayo was a Colombian painter, sculptor, caricaturist and plastic artist. He won the 1970 Salón de Artistas Colombianos. Rayo worked with abstract geometry primarily employing black, white and red. He was part of the Op Art movement. Rayo's work shows that geometric art is as much a part of...
proposed the use of the colors of the Colombian flag
Flag of Colombia
After Miranda later designed his flag based on this conversation, he happily recalled seeing a fresco by Lazzaro Tavarone in the Palazzo Belimbau in Genoa that depicted Christopher Columbus unfurling a similar-coloured flag in Veragua during his fourth voyage....
adding the green color, which would represent the greenery of the department.
Description
The flag is composed by two parallel horizontal stripes of the same size one white and the other of a celestial blue and with a silver border.Interpretation:
- celestial blue: honesty, sincerity and loyalty.
- white: peace, beauty and purity.
- silver: integrity, obedience and innocence.
Usage
The flag is flown in every official building of Valle del Cauca and the official events the governor or any of the municipal mayor are present. The flag is flown also by the flag of ColombiaFlag of Colombia
After Miranda later designed his flag based on this conversation, he happily recalled seeing a fresco by Lazzaro Tavarone in the Palazzo Belimbau in Genoa that depicted Christopher Columbus unfurling a similar-coloured flag in Veragua during his fourth voyage....
.