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El Rosario (Municipality, Canary Islands, Spain)

Last modified: 2015-05-30 by ivan sache
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[Municipal flag]         [Municipal flag]

Flag of El Rosario, two official variants - Images by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 April 2008


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Presentation of El Rosario

The municipality of El Rosario is located south of San Cristobal de La Laguna. The biggest village of the municipality is La Esperanza.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 April 2004


Symbols of El Rosario

The flag of El Rosario is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 29 June 1999 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 13 August 1999 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 108, pp. 12,173-12,174 (text). The flag was originally approved on 26 November 1997 by the Municipal Council, validated on 11 March 1999 by the Heraldry Commission of the Autonomous Community of Canary Islands and eventually adopted on 23 April 1999 by the Municipal Council, as published on 26 May 1999 in the official gazette of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province, No. 64.
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular panel [...] one and half longer than wide, made of two right-angled triangles, white at hoist nd green at fly.
When the flag is charged with the municipal coat of arms, this should be placed in the middle of the panel, preferably on both sides of the flag, in height 2/3 of the height of the flag's panel.

The rationale for the choice of the colours is the following.
Green: Heraldic tincture attributed to hope, explicitely mentioned in the historical record as part of an event that occurred in the municipality and yielded it its name.
White is an heraldic symbol of splendour, purity and liberty, representing the white landscape made of blossoming almond trees that announce spring, in syntony with Mt. Teide, whose snow covers the highest parts of the municipality.

The flag seen in the Military Museum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife features the coat of arms on both sides.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the first settlement in the municipality, La Esperanza (lit., Hope), was named for the hope of salvation of the Castilians who survived the battle of Acentejo, where they had been defeated by the Guanches, when they established a camp on the shore.

The coat of arms of El Rosario is prescribed by Decree No. 3,674, adopted on 5 November 1964 by the Spanish Government of the Canary Islands and published on 21 Novmber 1964 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 280, p. 15,356 (text).
The coat of arms, approved by the Royal Academy of History, is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Per pale, 1.Or five roses gules per saltire, 2. Argent a Canarian pine vert. Grafted in base azure an anchor argent. A bordure vert charged with four batons one in chief one in base one dexter and one sinister. The shield surmounted with a Royal crown.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the 1st quarter features five roses symbolizing the five mysteries of the Rosary, the municipality's namesake. The 2nd quarter features a Canarian pine, found in big forests around La Esperanza. The base features an anchor, a symbol of hope (esperanza), a theologal virtue. The bordure features five palos, referring to a much popular game inherited from the natives.

Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 21 March 2008