The coat of arms of Monterrey represents the history, customs, idiosyncrasy and values of the town, in addition to the colors embodied in it, it is considered a representative and official mark of the Municipality.
This is stated in the regulations of the Coat of Arms of the Municipality of Monterrey. The most widespread canvas of the shield so far was made by Ignacio Martínez Rendón, commemorating the 350 years anniversary of the city.
Origin
One of the main characters who began the preparations for the assignment of the coat of arms to the city of Monterrey, was Governor Nicolás de Azcárraga in 1667, who was a knight of the Order of Santiago and captain general of the New Kingdom of León.
He wrote a letter to Queen Mariana of Austria where he explained the city's requirement for the privilege of arms and the transfer of a customary shield.
Thanks to the Royal Decree of the queen of Austria on May 9, 1672, the governor had the power to order the creation of the shield.
To date, the author and designer of the shield is unknown, although many historians credit Nicolás de Azcárraga.
Description
In the center of the shield there is an oval frame made of natural enamels. Inside, there is a plain with two trees and the representation of an Indian pointing to the gules sun, which appears behind the Cerro de la Silla.
Outside the frame, there are two Indians dressed in plumes, armed with bows and arrows, representing the support of the canvas, dropping their upper ends back.
In the background, it has three white flags on each side that fall on the military trophies, bullets, drums and cannons.
At the bottom of the shield is the slogan with the legend "City of Monterrey."
The upper part has a condal crown that is positioned on the top of the shield. It represents the noble title of Don Gaspar de Zúñiga and Acevedo Count of Monterrey, ninth viceroy of New Spain.
Modifications
It is worth mentioning the changes recorded by historians to the original design.
On October 30, 1899, the Monterrey council ordered the replacement of the crown of the coat of arms by the Phrygian cap, to symbolize the republic and freedom.
However, the crown returned the shield in 1928 under the orders of the First Mayor.
The second change registered was the integration of the motto of the city to the shield. It was done through a public call from Monterrey in 1989, where Prof. Samuel Rodríguez Hernández was proclaimed the winner with the slogan "Work tempers the spirit."
He referred to the constant work and the unbreakable spirit in the face of the adversities of the Monterrey.
According to historians, various unauthorized changes are known where slogans have been added, Indians repositioned, the rising sun snatched, the arrangement of instruments of war and drums changed, etc.
Finally, during the administration of the Mayor of Monterrey Adalberto Madero Quiroga in 2007, the Regulation of the Coat of Arms of the Municipality of Monterrey was approved, in charge of protecting its use in municipal offices.
References
- Cavazos Garza, Israel. (1966). Catalog and synthesis of the protocols of the Municipal Archive of Monterrey. Mexico. Publications of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.
- City of Monterrey (sf). Retrieved on September 20, 2017, from Wikipedia.
- Coat of Arms of M onterrey (nd). Retrieved on September 20, 2017, from Wikipedia.
- Montemayor, Andrés H. (1971). History of Monterrey. Mexico, Monterrey. Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Monterrey, AC
- Montemayor, Franciso F. (1949). In the tradition-legend Monterrey. Mexico, Monterrey. Impersora Monterrey.