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Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Municipality, Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of Las Palmas - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

Symbols of Las Palmas
Former flag of Las Palmas
Sports clubs in Las Palmas
San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite

See also:

Symbols of Las Palmas

The flag of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital of Gran Canaria, is white with the municipal coat of arms in its centre.
The flag was used as the flag of the island until 1896. It is nowadays used by the town of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, though there is no evidence that it has ever been officially adopted by the town.

The coat of arms of Las Palmas is "Per fess, 1a. Gules a tower or masoned black, 1b. Argent a lion rampant purpure crowned armed and langued or, 2. Azure a tower or masoned black port and windows gules surrounded by two palm trees proper with two dogs statant sable leaning towards the trees. A red bordure charged with seven pairs of swords argent hilted or crossed per saltire. The shield surmounted by a royal crown open. The supported by two palm branches proper. Beneath the shield a ribbon argent inscribed with the motto 'SEGURA TIENE LA PALMA' [La Palma stands safe]".

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the arms were granted in 1506 to the Island Council, then the only insular institution, by Letters Patented signed by Queen Joanna the Mad. The coat of arms was later modified a couple of times. Two pairs of swords and the fortress in the 3rd field are later additions.
The 1st and 2nd quarters symbolize the direct rule exerted over Gran Canaria by the Crown of Castile (in fact the arms of Castile and León are displayed). The tower in the lower field recalls that the town of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was once fortified. The palm trees allude to the victories over the British commanded by Francis Drake (1595) and the Dutch commanded by Pieter van der Does (1599); they furthermore allude to the island's name, as do the dogs ("Canary Islands" means "Dog Islands"). Two of the pairs of crossed swords are a tribute to the aforementioned victories, while the other five represent battles fought during the conquest of the island by the Spaniards. The ribbon also commemorates those deeds.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

Former flag of Las Palmas

Former flag of Las Palmas - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

The former (1483) flag of the town was a white flag with a coat of arms (modified several times) in its centre, also used as the flag of the island until it was abolished in 1896.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

Sports clubs in Las Palmas

Club Natación Metropole

Flag of Club Natación Metropole, as seen on 15 September 2011 in the club's outdoors bath - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

The flag is in proportions 2:3, purple with the club's logo in the centre.
The club's logo is a yellow isosceles triangle pointing downwards. The celestial blue inscription "CNM" is nearly filling the whole triangle and forming some kind of fimbriation. A yellow, wavy segment is appended at the top of the triangle, containing three celestial blue waves.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

Real Aeroclub Gran Canaria

Flag ofReal Aeroclub Gran Canaria, as seen on 19 September 2011 at the club's airfield - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

The flag is in proportions 2:3, white with the club's logo in the centre.
The club's logo is a blue disc bordered yellow. The bordure bears the club's name. In the disc is place a white seagull with wings exceeding the disc. The disc is topped by a royal crown.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria

Flag of Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, as seen on 15 September 2011 in fromt of the club house - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

The flag is in proportions 2:3, similar to the flag of Gran Canaria with the island's coat of arms replaced by the club's logo.
The club's logo is a triangular pennant horizontally divided yellow-blue. The shade of yellow is darker on the pennant than on the flag's upper field. The pole is golden brown, topped by a silver spear head. The pennant is superimposed by the coat of arms of Gran Canaria, which is surrounded by a light grey annulet bearing the club's name in black capitals. The annulet is topped by a Royal crown.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

Unión Deportiva Las Palmas

Flag of Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, as seen on 21 September 2011 in the club's fan shop - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

The flag is in proportions 2:3, similar to the flag of Gran Canaria with the island's coat of arms replaced by the club's logo.
The club's logo is the coat of arms of the island modified in shape and colour and superimposing a bigger blue Renaissance shield containing the arms of five football clubs supporting Unión Deportiva upon the base (one of them is "Victoria").

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite

Flag of San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite - Image by Ivan Sache, 8 May 2021

The former municipality of San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite was suppressed and incorporated to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (then known as Las Palmas) during the Civil War.

Tamaraceite, as a native settlement, was suppressed by Juan Rejón, one of the first Spanish colonizers of the island, who "came with 300 men and 30 horses to the camps of Tamarsayte, Tenoya and Arucas, destroyed all their fig plantations and crops, burned down the huts and captured prisoners of all ages."
In the colonial period, Tamaraceite was a significant place. Adeun de Tamarasyate was among the 10 ambassadors of [Gran] Canary Island that went on 11 January 1476 to Lanzarote to ask pardon for a military expedition to Diego de Herrera, lord of the Canary Islands.
Tamaraceite appears to have been originally known as Atamaraseid or Atamarazaid. Prefix "A"- was subsequently dropped leaving in 1873 only Tamaraceyte or Tamarasaite. Some scholars believe that Tamaraceite means "a palm forest". The fruit of the palm tree is indeed still known locally as támara. Tamaraceite Valley was originally a wide palm forest, as reported in historical chronicles.
San Lorenzo was known as Lugarejo [Small place of Tamarasayte] until the late 17th century. Like the other settlements on the island, San Lorenzo belonged until the end of the Ancient Regime to the municipality of Las Lamas de Gran Canaria; it was granted, however, the establishment in 1681 of the Jurisdicción de San Lorenzo and the appointment of a Royal Mayor indicates a certain level of autonomy.

The municipality of San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite was established in 1812, which initiated a number of conflicts with neighboring Las Palmas seeking to increase its territory. The suppression of the municipality was performed during the Civil War; in 1936, the elected Municipal Council was disbanded; the Communist Mayor, Juan Santana Vega (Machado), the Municipal Secretary, Antonio Ramírez Graña, the head of the local Police, Manuel Hernández Toledo, and two union's leaders, Francisco González Santana and Matías López Morales, were sentenced to death and shot on 29 March 1937. On 10 November 1937, the official gazette of the province invited the inhabitants of San Lorenzo "to table their appeals, while extra-official comments would be ignored". The incorporation of San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite to Las Palmas was prescribed by a Decree issued on 9 November 1939 by the Council of Ministers and published on 30 November 1939 in the Spanish official gazette.
[Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica y del Municipio de San Lorenzo; La Provincia - Diario de Las Palmas, 28 June 2017]

The municipality of San Lorenzo de Tamaraceite used a flag horizontally divided green-white-green; the design was confirmed by several elders of the town.
[Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica y del Municipio de San Lorenzo, 28 October 2012]

Ivan Sache, 8 May 2021