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Trevélez (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Flag of Trevélez - Image from the Símbolos de Granada website, 14 May 2014

Presentation of Trevélez
Symbols of Trevélez

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Presentation of Trevélez

The municipality of Trevélez (792 inhabitants in 2014; 9,100 ha) is located 100 km south of Granada.
Trevélez is of Roman origin, as evidenced by its name - from Latin inter valem, "between valleys" - and a few remains dated to the 3rd century. The local etymology, however, refers to the three (tres) Vélez brothers, the founders of the village. The modern village, established by the Muslims, is divided into three boroughs (upper - medieval -, middle, and lower).

The Trevélez Ham is protected by the "Jamón de Trevélez" Protected Geographic Designation, as prescribed by a Decree adopted on 2 March 2012 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 13 March 2012 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 50, pp. 67-70 (text). The ham should be made with pork meat from pigs of Landrace, Large White, and Duroc-Jersey outbreds. The production zone encompasses the high (> 1,200 m) areas of the municipalities of Trevélez, Juviles, Busquístar, Pórtugos, La Taha, Bubión, Capileira and Bérchules. The Decree states that the 11 maturation workshops employ 120 people, produce 600,000 pieces of ham per year, resulting in 18 million $ sales. The production is controlled by a Regulatory Council (website), in compliance with strict rules of origin, salting and quality of the products.
The Trevélez Ham has been internationally recognized for more than 200 years. It was highly estimted by Queen Victoria, Empress Eugénie de Montijo and Queen Isabel II, who granted in 1862 the use of the Royal seal to the producers. Each piece of Trevélez Ham is still sealed with these arms and the writing "PREMIADO POR S.M. LA REYNA ISABEL II EN 1862. TREVÉLEZ" (Awarded by H.M. the Queen Isabel II in 1882. Trevélez).

Ivan Sache, 14 May 2014

Symbols of Trevélez

The flag and arms of Trevélez, adopted on 9 July 2003 by the Municipal Council, are prescribed by Decree No. 307, adopted on 28 October 2003 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 25 November 2003 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 227, pp. 24,799-24,800. (text). Originally adopted on 6 November 2002 by the Municipal Council but rejected on 10 April 2003 by the Royal Academy of Córdoba, the symbols were corrected on 9 July 2003 by the Municipal Council. The final Decree was confirmed by a Resolution adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 2:3, made of a green panel with a blue diagonal stripe outlined in white running from the upper hoist to the lower fly.
Coat of arms: Vert a bend azure fimbriated argent charged with a fish argent in chief a mountain goat's head in base a ham all argent. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown closed.

The symbols are explained in the Preamble of the Decree as follows.
Since there is no record of historical emblems of Trevélez, the symbols were designed from scratch. One of the most representative elements of the environment of the village is river Trevélez, famous for its trouts and salmons. Ham is the most repersentative product of Trevélez since the 19th century. Finally, the mountain goat is a symbol of the ecological resources of the region.
The flag is a chromatic adaptation of the tinctures of the coat of arms.

Ivan Sache & Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 May 2014