The Santander shield was institutionalized in 2004 by then-Governor Hugo Aguilar Naranjo. The colors of the flag of this Colombian department predominate: gules (bright red), sinople (green), sable (black) and gold (yellow).
These symbolize many of the values of Santander such as nobility, heroism, loyalty, perseverance and industry, among others.
Originally, the department of Santander was made up of six provinces. After a territorial reorganization, the denomination of provinces was changed to nuclei of provincial development, and two more nuclei were incorporated.
For this reason, it is common to see two versions of this shield: one with six stars and the other with eight.
History
In the first months of his mandate, Governor Hugo Heliodoro Aguilar Naranjo addressed a letter to the president of the Departmental Assembly of Santander, Alfonso Riaño Castillo.
In this letter he presented a proposal called the Draft Ordinance, Departmental Development Plan "Santander en Serio 2004-2007".
After the explanatory statement, Aguilar Naranjo explains the key issues of the plan, including its strategic axes.
The first strategic axis is the construction of «Santanderianidad». The purpose of this was to build and root an identity. It proposed several mechanisms to achieve this end.
One of these was to require the educational establishments of the department to permanently use and display national symbols.
By then the entity only had the flag and the anthem of Santander. Then he proposed the initiative of a contest to design the coat of arms of Santander.
Ordinance 029 of 2004 of the Departmental Assembly adopted this plan. This is how Santander adopts its official coat of arms through decree 00282 dated August 31, 2004.
Meaning
The symbolism of the Santander coat of arms refers to the temperament of its people, its topography and its history.
The community leader José Antonio Galán is in the upper left barracks. This image is a clear reference to the heroic struggles and constant sacrifices of this people for their ideals.
To your right is an oil tower. Oil is part of Santander's natural resources and is the basis of its economy.
In the lower field of the coat of arms you can see the landscape of the Chicamocha Canyon. At more than 108,000 hectares and 2,000 meters deep, this canyon is the second largest in the world.
This destination is one of the main attractions of Colombia, and is nominated to become one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The shield symbolizes the rugged geography of Santander.
Likewise, some tobacco leaves at the foot of the shield refer to agricultural work and production.
Although tobacco is still a very important item, Santander also stands out for other agricultural products such as cocoa and African palm. The tobacco leaves are representative of the industriousness of the people in Santander.
They complete the shield 6 or 8 stars representing their provinces, and two legends. The outer circumference reads "Department of Santander", while on a lower tape is inscribed the common slogan "Always Forward."
References
- Martínez, A. (s / f). Santander Department symbols. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from todacolombia.com
- Santander opens provinces. (2005, December 07). In the time. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from eltiempo.com
- Draft Ordinance Departmental Development Plan "Santander en Serio 2004-2007". (2004, April 26). Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from cdim.esap.edu.co
- Acevedo Linares, A. (2013, September 18). Santander and its history. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from las2orillas.co
- Bautista, SA (2014, February 2014). Santander symbols. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from knowing thegransantander.blogspot.com
- Chicamocha canyon. (s / f). In Colparques Organization. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from colparques.net
- Agriculture in the region. (2004, August 4). In the time. Retrieved on November 16, 2017, from eltiempo.com