COLOMBIAN FLAG: HISTORY AND MEANING OF ITS COLORS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The flag of Colombia is one of the national symbols of the Republic of Colombia along with the coat of arms and the national anthem. This is used by different instances of the National Government and can come up with variants according to the use that is given to it.

The colors of the Colombian flag are yellow, blue and red. The meaning of these colors may vary depending on who explains them. There is a meaning popularly given to the flag, as well as an official version of what they mean.

Colombia flag colors

In accordance with Law 28 of 1925, it was established that the day of the flag would be celebrated on August 7 of each year in commemoration of Simón Bolívar's victory in the Battle of Boyacá, which took place in 1819.

The flag by obligation must be displayed in all official locations in Colombia during the commemorative dates of the country's history.

The flag of Colombia is framed in a rectangle divided horizontally by the colors yellow, blue and red in a 2: 1: 1 ratio.

Yellow occupies the top half of the rectangle followed by blue and red, each occupying a quarter of the remaining space.

Although there are no exact regulations about the dimensions of the rectangle, a proportion has always been used in which the height is two-thirds of the length.

This means that if the flag is one meter long, its height will be 66 centimeters.

What do its colors symbolize?

One of the first descriptions regarding the interpretation that is given to the colors of the Colombian flag was given in 1819 by the Congress of Angostura. The first person to describe the meaning of the flag was Francisco Antonio Zea.

During such event, what would later be known as Gran Colombia was to be created. Zea stressed that the yellow stripe represents "the peoples who love and love the federation."

For its part, the blue stripe is an allusion to the seas that separated the territory from the yoke of Spain and the red one as an oath that indicates the preference for a war rather than falling back under Spanish rule.

In this same tone it is believed that the colors are the same in the flag of Spain, but with a blue in the middle that expresses the same meaning as that proposed by Zea.

Meaning given at present

Currently the meaning expressed by official institutions differs in certain aspects from the most popular beliefs.

Yellow is commonly seen as a symbol of the wealth in gold that the territory possessed in pre-Columbian times and officially represents “the abundance and wealth of our soil, but also sovereignty, harmony and justice”.

The blue color represents the two oceans that bathe the coasts of Colombia and it is added that it is the means that "unites us with other peoples for the exchange of products."

Finally, the color red is popularly seen as the blood shed by the patriots in the struggle for independence, but today they have wanted to give a twist to this notion, indicating that it refers to “the blood that feeds the heart and gives it movement and life. It means love, power, strength and progress ”.

History

Francisco de Miranda was the person who originally designed the yellow, blue and red flag of Gran Colombia.

The current flags of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela would later be derived from this, each with certain variations in the proportions of the three colors and the use of symbols.

It is said that Miranda pointed to different sources of inspiration to design the flag of Gran Colombia in this way.

The explanations of these sources can be read in a letter written by Miranda to the Russian Count Simon Romanovich Woronzoff and the philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which describes a conversation between Miranda and Goethe at a party in Weimar (Germany) during the winter of 1785.

This card alludes to how the 3 primary colors are the generators of the infinity of tones that we can appreciate and they become a metaphor for humanity itself.

Miranda also lived a long time in Russia and from there other theories about the origin of these colors emerge. Some believe that it is a tribute to Empress Catherine II of Russia as a poem to the blonde colors of her hair, the blue of her eyes and the red of her lips.

However, the most prevalent belief is the choice of these colors as they stand out the most in a rainbow.

XIX century

By 1814, in the United Provinces of New Granada the use of a flag of yellow, green and red colors that were distributed horizontally and in equal proportions was maintained.

This version was the one used by the military in the battle of Pantano de Vargas on August 7, 1819, which would end in an eventual independence process.

On December 17, 1819, the Congress of Angostura decreed that the flag to be used was that of Venezuela, created by Francisco de Miranda, for being the best known. This decision was taken since this symbol was the one that Simón Bolívar carried in his passage through the countries that he was liberating.

The Republic continued to use the flag of Venezuela until 1834 when it was established that, for the Republic of New Granada, the position of the stripes should be changed from horizontal to vertical in equal proportions:

"They will be distributed in the national pavilion in three vertical divisions of equal magnitude: the one closest to the flagpole, red, the central blue division and the one with the yellow extremity."

This version of the flag would not undergo changes for more than two decades, enduring multiple political changes and dictatorships. This version of the Colombian flag, with the distribution of colors of the Confederation, would be used until 1861.

In 1861, General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, acting as provisional president of the United States of Colombia, was the one who ordered the current provision of the flag with the Decree of November 26, 1861 that reads:

"The colors of the national flag of the United States of Colombia are: yellow, blue and red, distributed in horizontal bands and the yellow color occupying half of the national flag, in its upper part, and the other two colors the other half, divided in equal bands, blue in the center and red in the lower part ”.

Since then, the national flag of Colombia has remained without major changes in its colors or distribution.

Only Decree 838 of 1889 was issued, by means of which all those flags that in their center carried the national shield were modified, removing the stars that adorned the edge of them and changing their inscription for one that said "Republic of Colombia".

The dimensions of the Colombian flag, meanwhile, were regulated by resolution number 04235 of 1965, indicating that the height of the flag corresponds to two-thirds of its length.

Variants

According to the current provisions of Colombian law, the application of symbols on the flag of Colombia may vary depending on the official use that is going to be given by the country's diplomatic, military or civil entities.

These regulations on the use of the Colombian flag are set forth in decrees 861 of May 17, 1924, 62 of January 11, 1934, and 3558 of November 9, 1949.

Current flag

The current flag of Colombia is the same one described in 1861 by General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera. The colors of it are yellow, blue and red. These are distributed in the manner described above in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.

The flag colors according to the Pantone color code are Yellow 116, Blue 287, and Red 186.

Merchant and diplomatic marine flag

This variant of the Colombian flag is the one used by the merchant navy fleet and the Colombian civil force aircraft. It is also used by official entities such as embassies, delegations and consulates, which carry out work abroad.

This variant was designed according to the decrees of 1934 and 1949, where it is indicated that the flag must have a distribution of the colors and proportion of the stripes equal to that of the national flag. They also point out that the dimensions must be three meters long, by two meters high.

The flag must have an oval shield with a blue background in the center. This shield is bordered by a red velvet line, two inches wide.

In the center of the shield there is a white star with eight edges and four inches in diameter. The oval has dimensions of 40 centimeters by 30 centimeters.

The flag of the merchant navy was regulated since 1834, being modified in 1861 with the rest of the national emblems.

Its content underwent changes until 1934, during which the aforementioned characteristics were officially established.

War or naval flag

This variant of the Colombian flag is the one used to indicate that there is a state of war. It is also used by the country's military institutions. It was established as the official flag of these institutions in 1924, by means of decree 861.

According to this decree, the war flag must have a distribution of colors and a proportion of the stripes equal to that of the national flag.

The dimension of the one used for standing troops is 1.35 meters long and 1.1 meters high. On the other hand, the flag used by the mounted forces is one meter high and one meter wide.

The National Navy, for its part, uses a flag that has the same dimensions as the national flag.

Regardless of the type of war flag used, all of them must have the coat of arms of the Republic of Colombia in the center. This must be surrounded by a circumference of red velvet, with a width of five centimeters and an external diameter of 40 centimeters.

The velvet circle is inscribed on its outside, in gold letters, the name of the troop to which the flag belongs.

Like the flag of the merchant or diplomatic navy, the war flag was first regulated in 1834.

Initially it was defined under the same characteristics of the New Granada flag (three vertical stripes of red, blue and yellow colors), with the positioning of the national coat of arms in the center.

This flag was widely used by both military and diplomats of the Republic until 1861, when the use of a unified national flag was regulated.

The war or naval flag was later regulated on November 5, 1889 by Decree 838, which eliminated the use of the phrase "United States of Colombia" from the shield.

Later, the war flag was regulated in 1906 by Decree 844, and its use was regulated in 1949.

Presidency flag

This variant of the Colombian flag is the one used by the President of the Republic of Colombia.

This is in charge of directing the armed forces of the nation, which is why he is the only individual of the civilian population who in moments of peace can carry the national shield on the flag.

This type of flag was regulated in 1949, therefore, it is considered the most recent in the country.

Its design consists of the same flag used nationally and by the other variants, with the application of the coat of arms of the Republic of Colombia embroidered above a white circle. This circle has a diameter of 60 centimeters and is surrounded by a red border.

The phrase "Republic of Colombia" is embroidered in the upper part of the red circle. The words "President", "Liberty and Order", or "Presidential"; they can sometimes be embroidered in the lower part of the same circle in gold.

Flag Day

In Colombia, the national holiday of Flag Day was decreed in 1925, by means of Law 28. This law indicates that the defeat of the Spanish by the Colombian patriots must be commemorated on August 7. in the field of Boyacá (Battle of Boyacá), thus concluding the process of independence of Colombia.

On the other hand, in 1991 the 1967 decree was established, by means of which it is obliged to display the Colombian flag in government headquarters and public buildings during national holidays.

As are the Anniversary of Independence (July 20), the Battle of Boyacá (August 7), the Discovery of America (October 12), and the Independence of Cartagena (November 11).

References

1. Colombia, V. d. (September 3, 2017). Varieties of Colombia. Obtained from Bandera De Colombia: varietiesdecolombia.com
2. Corpas, JP (1967). History of the Colombian flag. Bogotá: the Military Forces.
3. Franco, JE (October 4, 2011). Hymns and Symbols of My Country Colombia. Obtained from the National Flag of Colombia: latierrayelhombre.wordpress.com
4. Horváth, Zoltán. Flags of the World. August 13, 2015. flagspot.net.
5. Jaume Olle. Historical Flags. angelfire.com.
6. Presidency of the Republic of Colombia. Patriotic symbols. wsp.presidencia.gov.co.
7. University Francisco Jose de Calda. PATRIOTIC SYMBOLS. udistrital.edu.co.