The banderas monumentales (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "monumental

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

s") are a collection of tall

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

s containing large flags of Mexico located throughout

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. They are part of a program started in 1999 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ernesto Zedillo Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was the 61st president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Re ...

that is currently administered by the

Secretariat of National Defense The Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA; ) is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equal Secretary of the Navy, is directly answe ...

(''Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional''). The main feature of these monuments (though not the biggest, see below) is a giant

Mexican flag The national flag, national flag of Mexico () is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolor of green, white, and red with Coat of arms of Mexico, the national coat of arms charge (heraldry), charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meani ...

flying off a flagpole. The size of the flag was and it was flown on a pole that measured high. In the time after the decree was issued, many more banderas monumentales have been installed throughout the country in various sizes and proportions. Many of the chosen locations were chosen due to significant events in Mexican history that occurred there.

The 1999 decree

On July 1, 1999, President Zedillo officially started the flag program by issuing a decree that was published in the government register Official Journal of the Federation. While the formation of the flag project was one aspect of the decree, the overall aims of the law were to promote the flag, the

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

to instill a sense of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

into the Mexican population. Zedillo also used the timeframe of 1995 until 2000 to promote Mexican

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. Finally, this decree allowed the governors of each

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

to display more conspicuously the national symbols (''Símbolos Patrios'') throughout their state.

The flag program

The deployment of ''banderas monumentales'' was outlined by Zedillo in a two-point program. The first point consisted of selecting the location for the monumental flags, of which the first were: *Those in the military base ''

Campo Marte Campo Marte is a venue under the administration of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA). Named after the ''Campus Martius'' (Field of Mars), it is used for military and government events, as well as equestrianism, equestrian events. Camp ...

'', in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

, and in the ''San Jerónimo'' roundabout in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

, Chihuahua * Veracuz,

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

* Iguala,

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

The first two deployments were in México City, Mexico's capital. The next two were in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, along the northern border with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Veracruz is Mexico's main

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Finally, Iguala was where the flag of the Three Guarantees (''Bandera de las Tres Garantías'') recognized as Mexico's first flag, was created. The second point in the program accounted for the creation of a standard size for the flags and the poles they would be raised on. Zedillo's official decree stated that the flag sizes will be in height by in width. The flag size is close to the 4:7 ratio as stated in Article 3 of the Law on the National Coat of Arms, Flag and Anthem (''Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacionales''). The flagpoles were to have a height of . There have been smaller flags called ''banderas semi-monumentales'' installed for schools, smaller communities and other locations where logistics complicate the flying a giant flag. The flags are greatly smaller than its those outlined in the 1999 decree, but have the advantages that are cheaper and easier to take down than the monumental flags. Monumental flags are costly to construct and require a group of nearly twenty people to raise and lower them.

Biggest flags

The tallest flagpole in Mexico have 120 meters high and was built for a 60-meter-wide national flag in

Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

. “The largest Mexican flag measures 60 meters by 34 meters and is raised on a 120-meter-high, 150-ton steel pole.

Current locations

Since the construction of the first monumental flags, other cities throughout the country have also deployed their own. They are mostly located in state capitals, historical towns and cities with important economic activity. *

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

Dolores Hidalgo Dolores Hidalgo (; in full, Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional, ) is the name of a city and the surrounding municipality in the north-central part of the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It is located at , at an elevation of about a ...

, Cuna de la Independencia Nacional,

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

* México City (three locations): **

Zócalo Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztecs, Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza us ...

, in the city center. **Campo Militar Marte (1 km northwest of

Los Pinos Los Pinos (English: ''The Pines'') was the official residence and office of the President of Mexico from 1934 to 2018. Located in the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) in central Mexico City, it became the presidential seat in 1934, w ...

) **''San Jerónimo'' * Iguala,

* Tonalá,

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

* Chihuahua, Chihuahua *

, Chihuahua *

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid; Otomi language, Otomi: ) is a city and municipal seat of the municipalities of Mexico, municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is both th ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

Tehuacán Tehuacán () is the second largest city in the Mexican state of Puebla, nestled in the southeast of the valley of Tehuacán, bordering the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. The 2010 census reported a population of 248,716 in the city and 274,906 i ...

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

* El Calvario,

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

* Cuautla and

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

Culiacán Culiacán, officially Culiacán Rosales, is a city in northwestern Mexico, the capital and largest city of both Culiacán Municipality and the state of Sinaloa. The city was founded on 29 September 1531 by the Spanish conquistadors Lázaro de ...

and

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

* Mérida,

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

Cancún Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

Naucalpan Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of Municipalities of the State of Mexico, 125 Municipalities of Mexico State, and is located just northwest of Mexico City. The municipal seat is the city of Naucalpan de Juárez, which extends ...

, Estado de México *

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

Ciudad Victoria Ciudad Victoria () (English: ''Victoria City'') is the seat of the Victoria Municipality, Tamaulipas, Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the Northern Mexico, n ...

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

Celaya Celaya (; Otomi: ) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The muni ...

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

* Ensenada,

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

Cozumel Cozumel (; ) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The ...

The Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Nuevo Laredo flags overlook the

border and can be clearly seen from the U. S. side.

Gallery

File:Iguala de la Independencia.jpg, Iguala,

File:Banderas monumentales, Quintana Roo, Mexico.jpg, Playa del Carmen,

File:P080510 12.31.jpg, Corralejo Hidalgo, Pénjamo,

File:Cancun-Hotel-Zone-Flag-3.jpg,

, Quintana Roo File:Bandera del zocalo.JPG,

File:Huge Flag in Cozumel Harbour (5497364592).jpg,

File:00 6494 Grande.JPG,

, Guerrero File:Bandera Monumental Ensenada.jpg, Ensenada,

File:Ensenada-mexico-night-flag-sm.jpg, Ensenada, Baja California File:Mexican-flag-ensenada.jpg, Ensenada, Baja California File:TijuanaStreet-small.JPG,

, Baja California File:AstaBanderaMonumental.JPG,

File:Bandera monumental en el cerro El Calvario, Toluca, México.jpg, El Calvario,

File:Bandera monumentale Cozumel.jpg, San Miguel de Cozumel,

References

''Mexico - Giant flags''
* {{in lang, es}
Secretariat of Interior of Mexico (article)

External links

Google maps photo of a bandera monumental at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

Photo of a ''bandera monumental'' at Tijuana, B.C., Mexico seen across the border from the United States side in San Ysidro, California
Culture of Mexico Flags of Mexico 1999 in Mexico Flagpoles