The flag of Quito is a rectangular civic symbol and is made up of three vertical stripes of different widths and the coat of arms of the city in the center. Its length to width ratio is 3 to 2 with the two outer stripes in blue and the four inner stripes in red.
The three civic symbols of Quito are the flag, the anthem and the coat of arms. The latter is part of the composition of the flag and, although there are documents with the exact description of how it was thought by King Carlos V of Spain, it has undergone changes since its design in 1541.
According to Ordinance No. 0493, dated February 19, 2014, made by the Metropolitan Council of Quito and published on the official website of the municipality, the specific shades of each color are Pantone Red 185c and Reflex Blue Pantone 281c.
The same Ordinance of 2014, in its article 4, establishes that the city must be lined with the flag during the commemorative and famous dates of the history of Quito, as well as the positioning of the banner at half mast when there is national mourning.
Evolution of the flag of Quito
The first flag of the city of Quito and of the Quito canton, as the Metropolitan District is known, of which there is a memory and document, was defined on May 17, 1944 by ordinance of the Municipal Council when creating the Flag or Flag of the City of San Francisco de Quito.
By then, the shades of red and blue were different until "gules" and "azur" were established as official ranges, in addition, the emblem located in the middle was not a coat of arms or a blazon, but a simple castle with a wide meaning: the strength, the nobility and the loyalty of the inhabitants of the city.
Later, in 1974, it would become official in Article 1 of the municipal law known as Municipal Ordinance No. 1634, when Sixto Durán Ballén was mayor of Quito and, finally, the colors chosen were red and blue in the aforementioned tones.
In the ordinance No. 0493 itself it is stated that "the lack of clarity in determining the colors of the Quito flag has caused a variety of red and blue colors to exist in the city's flags."
In article number 2 of the Ordinance related to the civic symbols of Quito of February 19, 2014, it is established as a rule that the coat of arms should always be on the flag and the banner of the city in the terms described in the Cédula Royal of May 14, 1541 where King Carlos V grants and describes the civic symbol.
Quito Flag Composition
Following the indications written more than 400 years ago, the city's coat of arms will be 5 proportions long by 3 wide and will go at most in the two red rectangles in the center of the city flag. This is how King Charles V designed it: a sacred Samni Shield on top.
Its field is made of gules with azure embroidery and on this it carries a San Francisco Gold Cord.
In the center of the field there is a silver castle crenellated to the Guelph and fortified with three towers; one of them rises as a watchtower flanked by the other two; all sheltered by open doors and windows.
The castle melts into the top of two hills of its own color, with a central green cellar at the foot of each one; these hills are reciprocally born from the lower quarters of the shield.
Quito coat of arms
The tribute to the castle already crowned has the following attributes: a golden Latin Cross with its green foot, from which it is held in their claws by two black eagles cracked in gold, facing each other and in a bewildered attitude.
The shield is stamped by a nobleman's helmet, all made of gold, closed with gold doors, with the crest made of gules and azure feathers.
As a garnish, the coat of arms has a boxed and ornamented cutout with a gules feather on each of the upper ends, and a quadrifolio on each of the central sides from which a cluster of fruits hangs.
Finally, the current flag was made official with said shield in the center and to which, later, ornaments such as flowers, laurels and a helmet of armor were placed on the upper part.
Civic importance of the Quito flag
It is worth mentioning that the flag that preceded the current civic symbol was the flag of the Revolutionary Board of Quito, used as a banner by the Quito patriots in 1809.
They designed a red banner with a white cross to indicate their opposition to the kingdom of Spain, whose military flag was white with a red cross, that is, the inverse of the Revolutionary Junta.
This emblem was used during the first Autonomous Government Junta of Quito and during the Spanish counterattack in 1812.
It is popular knowledge that for many years of the 20th century, according to a transcription error in the part of the Battle of Ibarra, it was thought that the Quito flag, part of the independence troops led by Simón Bolívar, was completely red with a “flagpole White.
Finally, on the occasion of the Bicentennial celebrations of August 10, the day of the First Revolutionary Junta, the error was corrected and the banner was used correctly.
On the other hand, the Metropolitan Council of Quito ruled that absolutely all public institutions located in the city, as well as buildings over 12 stories high, must permanently display the flag of the city.
As well as the Metropolitan Control Agency must ensure the flagging of public spaces in the city such as parks, boulevards, roundabouts and others.
References
- Metropolitan Council of Quito. (1974). Ordinance No. 1634.. Quito.
- Metropolitan Council of Quito. (2014). Ordinance No. 0493. Quito.
- Government of Pichincha. (2014). Metropolitan District of Quito. Obtained from Pichincha.gob.ec: pichincha.gob.ec.
- Quito Canton (Pichincha, Ecuador). (2015). Obtained from Flagspot: flagspot.net.
- The Flags and Coats of Arms of the American Republics. (1909). Bulletin of the International Bureau of the American Republics.