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Breña Alta (Municipality, Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of Breña Alta, obverse and reverse - Images by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 February 2014

Symbols of Breña Alta

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Symbols of Breña Alta

The flag of Breña Alta, adopted on 13 June 2001 by the Municipal Council and validated on 30 January 2002 by the Heraldry Commission of the Canary Islands, is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 22 April 2002 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 27 May 2002 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 105, pp. 7,614-7,616 (text).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular panel [...], in length one and a half the width, made of two horizontal stripes of equal dimension, the first (upper) white, and the second (lower) red.
When added to the flag, the coat of arms should be placed in the middle of the panel, preferably on both sides of the flag and in height 2/3 of the flag's fly.
The selection of the colours has the following rationale:
- White is the traditional colour of the municipality, which uses it in all its festive decorations;
- Red is the colour of the flag and of the oldest heraldic traditions of La Palma Island.

On the flag in actual use, the obverse is charged with the municipal arms while the reverse is not.

The coat of arms of Breña Alta is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 17 May 1993 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 9 June 1993 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 74, p. 3,303 (text).
The coat of arms, approved by the Heraldry Commission of the Canary Islands, is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Per fess, 1a. Azure a Latin cross or set with gems, 1b. Gules two keys or per saltire, 2. Or two dragon trees vert. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed and surrounded by two tobacco plants tied beneath the shield by a scroll gules.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the cross symbolizes the Crosses' Festival, during which the villagers erect crosses decorated with multicoloured elements The keys symbolize St. Peter, the municipality's patron saint. The dragon trees represent the twin trees that grow in the borough of El Llanito (photo). Tobacco recalls that the plant is the origin of the wealth and of the name of the village, breña meaning "a tobacco plantation".

Santiago Dotor, Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 11 February 2014