There has been no human group that has not owned a symbol that unite with a sense of collective identity. The flag of Mexico brings together symbols that merged together over more than five centuries. The current flag, called the Fourth National Flag was adopted by decree on September 16, 1968 (Independence Day in Mexico, in 1821) and confirmed by law on February 24, 1984 (Flag Day). The version used today is an adaptation of the design approved in 1916 by decree of President Venustiano Carranza. The symbols on the flag of Mexico was fed three main sources: 1) of the civilizations that flourished before 1521: Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayas and Aztecs, 2) the English colonial religious and 3) the ex- Liberal England illustrated that it was proposed to found a republic with autonomous and sovereign states.
colors
The foundation stone of the capital city of the Aztec Empire, Tenochtitlán was represented at the Mexica codices with three interwoven diagonal stripes of the same colors as the flag of Mexico. The colors of the flag originated from the flag of the Army of the Three Guarantees, which was the one that ended the War of Independence. Originally, the meaning of the colors was as follows (all 3 guarantees the Army):
Verde: Independence (from Spain, the ideals of the independence movement). White
: Religion (Catholic faith Roman and no tolerance for other religions). Red
: Union (in English and Creole attached to motion).
The meaning was changed due to the secularization of the country, led by then President Benito Juárez. The new meaning of the colors was:
Green Hope (and golden eagle on the shield turns to this color).
Blanco: Mexican unit.
Red: The blood of heroes.
The arrangement of colors in the flag is on the way to the flag of France, where are represented the principles of Freedom, Equality and Fraternity.
I Aztec symbology
There are at least two levels of abstraction in the shield. One is the pictorial representation of the name of the empire's capital, Tenochtitlán. The other is the representation of the cosmological beliefs of the Aztecs. The following symbols have their origin in the civilizations that preceded the colony:
The sacred mountain surrounded by water : After creating the cosmos and order, the creator gods arranged the meeting point of different levels and parts of universe. This is the sacred mountain, the first one emerged from the primordial waters and are believed to contain inside caves full of water and seeds, nurturing, and was a site that stored the vital forces of the underworld. Pyramids were the representation by which each city was symbolized all the cosmogony, with its sunken floor full of water, around which was built around the kingdom. Altlepetl was synonymous with the Kingdom or State.
The foundation stone : Huitzilopochtli is the guardian god of the Mexica. Hardened, violent and warlike, had a nephew opponent Copil. The myth relates that the Aztecs lived quietly in Aztlán , when Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird of the North) spoke with the priests and told them they must find a new land where they would have wealth, power and where a new town would be born, and when found posing an eagle on a cactus would have reached the promised land. When the Aztecs settled in Chapultepec (another sacred mountain) and started having wars with its neighbors, Copil encouraged these against the Aztecs. Huitzilopochtli defeated him, captured him, decapitated him and snatched the heart, and a priest under his command threw the heart of Copil as far as possible, on the water, where stone became the birthplace of the cactus that reproduced his heart in thousand red tunas. After about 302 years of migration the Aztecs found the sign and there founded Tenochtitlan. Therefore, Tenochtitlan was built on the heart of the enemies of Huitzilopochtli, that is, the Aztec people.
The Cosmic Tree (nopal): For the peoples of the north was the cactus, while for the South as the Mayans, the plant performance was corn. Notes the cardinal directions and points intercardinal, the rebirth of the corn plant, which is not naturally reproduced except with the human seed, the forces of fertility and the recreation of the original creation, the beginning of the cosmos and the claim policy (often the ruler is represented as a cosmic tree in buildings and codices). The Cosmic Tree (And ruler) is in contact with the tremendous forces of the underworld, has the protection of the ancestors and manipulate the powers that maintain the balance of the cosmos. For its part, the hearts of enemies captured and killed were called cuanochtli tlazoti, ie the precious eagle cactus. The juice of the tuna was the emblem of the blood, soma, sacred elixir which powered the sun.
Eagle: is the golden eagle and golden eagle. It is a traditional solar symbol, predating the Aztecs, and represents the violent force. For the Aztecs, represented Tonatiuh, the sun god, their chief god, that gave movement to the nature and the cosmos with his own blood. Is twice the sun, day and embodies his face upward movement toward the zenith. The eagle refers to the sacred war for prisoners, and the offering of their hearts to the sun, thereby maintaining the cosmic order and balance, and ensures the dawn of a new day. The shield the eagle appears on aggressive stance. The Aztecs represented the eagle and its peak emerges triumphant glyph tlachinolli atl, water boiling blood of the enemy.
The serpent The shield is a rattlesnake. The Aztecs represented the eagle devouring a tuna, that is, the sun feeding off the blood of captured enemies. The snake represents fertility of land among agricultural peoples. On the other hand, where ancient depictions displayed the eagle and serpent appear in attitude equal in the struggle, not a devouring the second, and therefore with the same chance of winning. Florescano speaks of the conquest of the warlike Aztecs (with their god Tonatiuh) on cultured peoples established long ago in the Valley of Anahuac, who had a principal deity Quetzalcoatl. It is the triumph of the Mexica state. The Eden where corn was created and born children is called Temoachan ie eagle house (heaven) and the snake (the land).
II English Symbols
Carlos V of Spain decided a shield for Mexico City (named after the conquistadors preferred because they could pronounce it better than Tenochtitlan) that did not include the Aztec shield was rejected by all, until it returned to the old shield of the eagle on a cactus born of the foundation stone. The Catholic priests began to use in the iconography of churches and paintings this shield, noting the preference of the conquered by this symbol. It seems that English Catholic missionaries who were added to a water snake emblem of the city of Mexico during the colonial period. They did it to evangelize the descendants of the Aztec empire, using the Eagle collective memory about syncretism with the symbol of evil in the Catholic religion. Eventually he joined the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and thus we have the two symbols of Mexican identity, Creole and mestizo, in the two images, the Virgin of Guadalupe and the old shield of the capital of the Aztec Empire, which Creole patriotism were part of the century XVIII which resulted in the War of Independence. Also in the colony was added to the wreath with laurel branches (right) and oak (left) symbol of victory and strength, respectively.
III Contribution
liberal coat colors and old is the first emblem civic, not religious, who joined the Aztec logo flags emerged from the War of Independence and the Enlightenment thought. Masons were several of the men who led for more than a decade the War of Independence, and as in the rest of America became independent on s. Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fused their ideals with those of the newly independent republics.
Thus, for over 5 centuries and three traditions, created a mestizo national symbolism representing the independence, unity and most cherished national values, must not be forgotten.
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