LEGEND OF THE NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF MEXICO - HISTORY - 2024

The legend of the patriotic symbols of Mexico includes popular stories that narrate the creation and formation of national symbols, especially the national shield. The United Mexican States has three national symbols: the flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem. The characteristics and modes of use are regulated by a 1984 law.

However, its origin is older. The eagle and the cactus on the shield are symbols that have been used since pre-Hispanic times; This is why they have served as representatives of the Mexican identity. The legend of the formation of the national shield includes mythological elements from the founding of the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, capital of the Mexica Empire.

The eagle and its legend have remained in the Mexican collective imagination for centuries. Today it is the most important symbol of independent Mexico.

Mexican national symbols

The flag, the shield and the national anthem are the national symbols of Mexico. Since the independence of this North American country, the national symbols have accompanied its history with slight variations.

On February 8, 1984, the Law on the National Shield, Flag and Anthem was approved, which establishes the use of the three national symbols, their rules and regulations.

The national flag has three symmetrical vertical stripes, colored green, white and red. The national shield has a distinguished brown eagle on the cactus, which is also located in the central part of the white strip of the flag.

For its part, the national anthem has four stanzas and refers to the Mexican military victories of independence.

Legend of the Mexican national symbols

Eagle on shield

The existence of the eagle in the national shield has pre-Hispanic origins. The legend of its origin directly involves one of the gods of the Mexica, Huitzilopochtli.

This affirms that this god had ordered his subjects Cuaucóhuatl and Axolohua to search for a new place to settle in the center of present-day Mexico.

Cuaucóhuatl and Axolohua came from Aztlán and began a journey guided by the orders of the god Huitzilopochtli, who had promised them beautiful and lush landscapes. Seeing this panorama, they decided to go to Temazcatitlán.

In Temazcatitlán was Cuauhtlaquezqui, a priest who was considered the reincarnation of the god Huitzilopochtli. As a representative of this deity on Earth, he instructed the subjects to return to the place of the beautiful landscapes.

Similarly, Cuauhtlaquezqui made an important indication. In the first place they would see a wild cactus, and on this an eagle would be calm, eating and combing its hair. That would be the place where the Mexica would reign.

Founding place

According to legend, Cuauhtlaquezqui ruled that wherever the eagle was on the cactus, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan would be formed, which will be lasting and a place of victories.

According to later studies, some researchers have claimed that this founding myth that instituted the eagle symbol was created in the Itzcóatl government, which lasted between 1427 and 1440, to show citizens the divine origin of their presence in the Valley of Mexico.

The creation of this legend was accompanied by the substitution of any document that could contain a different story.

Meaning of the elements of the national coat of arms

There are many popular legends that attribute a representative meaning to all the elements of the current national shield. These beliefs are protected in the founding myth of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, collected in the eagle on the nopal.

It is common to hear that the eagle eating a snake while it perches on the cactus is the triumph of the Sun over the Earth, represented at dawn. On the other hand, the nopal -which is a cactus- acquires another meaning. Its fruit, the tuna, would represent the human heart as an offering to the gods to receive light.

On the other hand, the branches present in the national coat of arms are usually attributed a particular significance. The oak or oak branch represents strength, while the laurel branch represents victory.

The fact that the eagle is devouring a snake has an important representation, since a Manichean association of good and evil can be made, extrapolated to the Mexican people and their enemies.

Legends of the colors of the Mexican flag

The national flag is the other great national symbol, which prominently bears the national shield in its central part. Its proportions are 4: 7 and its three vertical stripes are green, white and red.

It is the colors specifically that have been the reason for the creation and narration of various legends, especially since the arrangement of these colors has historically not been clear. One of the most popular legends is that of the Army of the Three Guarantees.

The flag of the Army of the Three Guarantees, also known as the Trigarante flag, was the one used by the homonymous army that acted between 1820 and 1821, led by Agustín de Iturbide, who was crowned Emperor of Mexico in 1822. This flag already used the three current colors.

The Trigarante Army received this name because it was supported by three elements: fidelity to the Catholic Church, independence from Spain, and the union between Americans and Europeans.

These three meanings were popularly related to those of the flag. White would be considered the color of religion and purity, red the union between Europeans and Americans and green the independence of the country.

However, after the fall of the Second Mexican Empire the meanings of these colors could not remain the same. For this reason, President Benito Juárez gave them another conceptualization: green was now hope, white was unity, and red was the blood shed by heroes.

However, the origin of the Trigarante Army is not the only one. Many claim that since 1812 there were already tricolor flags, such as the Siera Flag, very similar to the current one. This flag was used by indigenous insurgents in the Sierra de Zongolica and became the pioneer of the Mexican national flag.

References

1. Aguilar, M., Pérez, C. and Pérez, S. (2004). The Flora of the Mexican national shield. Polybotany, (18), 53-73. Recovered from redalyc.org.
2. Castañeda, M. (2009). Central Mexican Indigenous Coats of Arms and the Conquest of Mesoamerica. Ethnohistory. 56 (1): 125–161. Recovered from jstor.org.
3. National Water Comission. (February 24, 2017). The legend of the National Shield. #IsMyBandera. Government of Mexico. Recovered from gob.mx.
4. Law on the National Shield, Flag and Anthem. (1984). Chamber of Deputies of the Honorable Congress of the Nation. Recovered from diputados.gob.mx.
5. Secretary of Foreign Relations. (2016). Learn about the history of the Mexican flag (#EsMiBandera). Government of Mexico. Recovered from gob.mx.