The Arauca flag is bicolor: its two colors refer to the local plain and the fight for Colombian independence. The banner does not carry any other adornment apart from the two stripes.
The official dimensions of this flag are 2.40 meters long and 1.80 meters wide. These measures were officially determined in decree number 411 of 1979.
History
Arauca has not been a formal department for long. It was only in 1991 that the Colombian government gave it the title of department. However, the territory has been delimited on maps as a police station since 1911.
To symbolize their distinctive regional character, the Araucanians adopted the current flag of Arauca in 1979. Aníbal Soriano Jiménez has gone down in history as the designer of the homeland symbol.
The shape of the flag is quite simple. It consists of only a horizontal red stripe on a horizontal green stripe.
The top color is red, or a red that approximates the color of blood. Green is an emerald shade.
The colors of the flag are distinctive for being darker than most of the colors used by other departmental flags of the country.
Meaning
Red
Dark red represents the blood shed during the Colombian War of Independence.
Tame, one of the cities of the department, is considered the “cradle of freedom”. There the national army of Colombia was founded during the war against Spain.
The Arauca River gives the department its name. It is important not only because of its economic value to the region, but also because of the military exploits that occurred there during the independence period.
José Antonio Páez, the South American general who lends his name to the bridge that crosses the border river, won one of the most important battles using this river strategically.
In the battle of the Queseras del Medio, Páez defeated the royalist army and was able to unite with allies to take control of the Colombian banks of the Arauca.
Today the memory of the independence effort continues to be a living part of the Araucan culture and identity. The llanero soldier is the main symbol of this historical period.
Green
The region that Arauca occupies is part of an immense savanna in the northern part of South America known as the eastern plains.
Another name for the geographical space is the Orinoquia, since it comprises the Orinoco river basin. This region is divided between the dominions of Venezuela and Colombia.
The region is mainly made up of flat, grassy lands that are known as plains or savannas. The green of the flag imitates the green plains that make up Arauca.
Seeing the plain extend towards the horizon inspires the inhabitants of the department, but the visual is not the only important point of the plain. The savannah is also the backbone of the economy.
Livestock in Arauca is one of the main economic activities. In addition, the plains store abundant amounts of oil.
The identity of the Araucanians is linked to the llanera identity. That is why the color of the savanna grass is reflected in the Arauca flag.
References
- Captain Paz. (2017). Flag. Recovered from capitanpaz.mil.co
- Betancourt, IJC Participation of the llaneros in the independence process, in the military history of Fidel Betancourt. Recovered from monografias.com
- Vargas, MZ (July 21, 2017). Arauca celebrated the bicentennial of Colombian independence. Recovered from portalaraucano.com
- Colombia and its folklore. (2017). Eastern plains region. Recovered from jorgearturo.wordpress.com
- Luna, P. (July 13, 1995). The awakening of the vibrating Arauca. Recovered from eltiempo.com