The national symbols of Chile are its flag, the shield and the national anthem. All these are cultural elements that have been established as references of their historical tradition and their common cultural values. In Chile native settlers, migrants, settlers and descendants converge with different cultural contributions, traditions and values.
For this reason, the Chilean identity is the result of the encounter of a diversity of human groups. A national symbol is a construction based on a unitary vision that expresses the feeling of an integrated country. Certainly, throughout history it is possible for diversity to be silenced and unique models to be imposed.
However, the visions that are shaped from the sociocultural diversity that characterize a nation always emerge. From these visions the ideas are configured, which communicate the essence of the national being expressed in the national symbols.
That meaning is reflected in the meaning of each verse of the song dedicated to exalting the national feeling. This notion is marked in the various spaces of the shield, and is consolidated in the colors and symbols of the national flag.
National symbols of Chile
Anthem
During the period known as the Old Homeland (1810-1814), patriotic songs began to be generated. At the initiative of José Miguel de la Carrera y Verdugo, in 1812 the first national symbols were created. They arise within the framework of the celebration of the second anniversary of the First National Government Board.
It consists of two hymns: Hymn to the Victory of Yerbas Buenas, and Hymn of the National Institute. Its authors were the Chilean-Argentine poet Bernando Vera y Pintado, and the Catholic priest Camilo Henríquez González, respectively.
Both songs were published by the newspapers of that time: La Aurora de Chile and El Monitor Araucano. The music is awarded to the teacher of the Cathedral of Santiago, José Antonio González.
Then the Spaniards regained power for three years. In 1818 the Battle of Chacabuco took place, led by General José de San Martín. Once patriot control was recovered, the first Constitutional Charter was signed.
Bernardo O'Higgins was appointed supreme director and proposed the song of Vera y Pintado as the National Anthem of Chile.
The hymn had eighty-four decasyllable verses divided into ten octaves and a quartet. The musicalization of the text was entrusted to the composer Manuel Robles Gutiérrez.
Letter change
At the end of 1844, after the independence war ended, diplomatic relations were established with Spain. Several Chilean newspapers carry out a campaign requesting that the lyrics of the anthem be softened as they consider it offensive towards new friends.
The current president, Manuel Buines Prieto, asked the poet Eusebio Lillo Robles for the new text. He kept the Vera Pintado chorus and arranged the verses.
Andrés Bello, a Venezuelan who was rector of the University of Chile, approved the text. The adequacy caused controversy among scholars and analysts for several years.
In 1980, Decree 6476 of August 21 of the Ministry of Education made the National Song of Chile official. The sanctioned version has lyrics by Eusebio Lillo and music by Ramón Carnicer.
flag
The Chilean national ensign was born in the heat of combat, in 1817. At that time, the forces of San Martín were fighting against the Spanish militia to permanently expel them from Chilean lands.
The national flag was adopted on October 18; it is known as the lone star. It is divided horizontally into two equal stripes.
The top one has a dark blue square on the left, with a white star in the center. The rest of the band is white. The lower stripe is totally red and the star has five points.
In the symbolism of the flag we have the following
- Blue represents the sky and the Pacific Ocean.
- The white reflects the snow of the high Andean peaks.
- Red recalls the blood shed by the liberating armies.
There are experts who point out that the three colors are the same as those of the Mapuche leaders. They wielded tricolor banners in their fight against the Spanish occupation forces during the Conquest.
Some say that the star represents the three powers (Executive, Legislative and Judicial). Others relate this flag to the star that identified the Mapuche people, the Araucanian star.
Law 2597, of January 12, 1912, officially established the national flag. This decision was ratified in the 1980 Constitution.
Shield
Among the national symbols, it is the national coat of arms that graphically establishes the greatest allegories. In the Chilean case, the first design dates from September 30, 1812. José Miguel Carrera, president of the Provisional Board of the Old Homeland, made it known.
It was a Greek column with the globe on top. Above it is a crossed spear and palm, and above it a blazing star. On the sides of the column were two figures: a man on the left, a woman on the right.
They were two Mapuches, representatives of the autochthonous people. At the bottom there is an inscription in Latin that translates the phrase "After the darkness, the light." With the reconquest by the Spanish armies, that emblem disappeared.
However, in 1818, with the victory of the patriot forces, the column returned with the balloon on top. There was a white eight-pointed star on each side and, above it, the motto "Freedom." Above the whole group is an eight-pointed star. On September 23, 1819, the Senate enacted it with some changes.
The white stars became five-pointed. The whole ensemble is enclosed in a dark blue oval, and laurel branches border the oval and intertwine above. On the sides appear the weapons of the cavalry, dragons, artillery and bombardment. Below, as a base, there are two cannons.
Current shield
The current official shield was designed by the British Carlos Wood Taylor. The central image is an equally divided shield with a blue upper band and a red lower band. Inside is the white five-pointed star.
Three plumes of feathers (blue, white and red) crown the shield. Located to his left is a huemul, a species of deer typical of the country; to the right is a king condor. They are both crowned.
The base of the shield reads "By reason or by force." The shield was also reconfirmed in the 1980 constitutional text.
Related topics
National symbols of Mexico.
National symbols of Venezuela.
National symbols of Ecuador.
References
- Bengoa, José (2002) Erosion and transformation of identities in Chile. Recovered at: redalyc.org
- Embassy of Chile. About Chile: National Symbols. Recovered at: embajadadechile.org
- S / A (2011) History of Law No. 20,537 on the use and hoisting of the national flag. Library of the National Congress of Chile. Retrieved from: www.bcn.cl
- Metzeltin, Miguel (2011) The discursive construction of the Republic of Chile. Philology Bulletin. Volume XLVI. Number 1 (pages 239-253) University of Chile. Recovered at: scielo.conicyt.cl
- Toro, EC (1960). National song of Chile. Editorial Andrés Bello. Symbols of the Homeland Collection. Recovered at: books.google.es