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Quetzaltenango Department (Guatemala)

Last modified: 2021-08-25 by rob raeside
Keywords: guatemala | quetzal | quetzaltenango |
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image by Dov Gutterman and Jaume Ollé, 29 March 2006

See also:

Municipalities:

  • Almolonga
  • Cabricán
  • Cajolá
  • Cantel
  • Coatepeque
  • Colomba
  • Concepción Chiquirichapa
  • El Palmar
  • Flores Costa Cuca
  • Génova
  • Huitán
  • La Esperanza
  • Olintepeque
  • Ostuncalco
  • Palestina de Los Altos
  • Quetzaltenango
  • Salcajá
  • San Carlos Sija
  • San Francisco La Unión
  • San Martín Sacatepéquez
  • San Mateo
  • San Miguel Sigüilá
  • Sibilia
  • Zunil
  • Other sites:


    Overview

    Quetzaltenango is the second largest city in Guatemala located in the western part of the country.
    Guido Solares, 27 July 1998

    The words come from the Spanish Quetzal (National Bird of Guatemala and the name of its current national currency) and the Quiche word tenango which means "Land of...", therefore meaning "Land of the Quetzal".
    Juan Carlos Arriola, 17 November 1998

    I located a site about the history of the flag of Quetzaltenango which include this variant and explanation in Spanish. see: <www.geocities.com/SoHo/7233/bandera.html>
    Dov Gutterman, 20 October 2000

    The info quoted about Quetzaltenango seems to be exact regarding the departmental flag seen in the visit of the queen Sofia. Flag of the city was reported by Flagmaster 25. Old flag of Los Altos must be the same as the departmental flag but with arms (according was adopted 1848) but Brommer Atlas show the vertical version (perhaps can be a mistake or a variant).
    Jaume Ollé, 20 October 2000

    The image is based on a photo of the Palace in Quetzaltenango and the emblem seems to be within the white field of a horizontal blue-white red flag.
    Fred Drews, 23 March 2006


    Variants (?)

    image by Jaume Ollé

    image by Jaume Ollé

    The flag of Quetzaltenango is a vertical red-white-light blue flag with the arms in the center, like the historical flag of the Republic of Los Altos.
    Mark Sensen, 28 July 1996

    During the visit of the Spanish Queen Sofía to the department it could be seen on TVE1 a flag with these colors but in horizontal arrangement: blue, white and red, without coat of arms, though it is to be expected that this could appear in other exemplars of this flag. The flag seen on TVE coincides with the flag of the Republic of Los Altos decreed on 13 of September of 1848.
    Jaume Ollé and Fred Drew from Flag Report

    image by Jaume Ollé

    Flagmaster nr. 25 reports the flag of "the city of Quezaltenango" (probably used by the whole department) with coat of arms in the center and vertical red, white, blue. Brommer Atlas (1862) indicates an identical flag but with the blue on the hoist and the red on the fly (and a quetzal bird in the center) that would correspond to the Republic of Los Altos.
    Jaume Ollé and Fred Drew from Flag Report


    Coat of Arms

    image by Jaume Ollé