Like all of the countries in the world, Mexico has a flag as one of its main symbols. Do you know what the colors of our flag stand for?
Green is for hope and victory. White is for the purity of our ideals. Red is for the blood our national heroes shed.
In addition to the bands of color, our flag also has and emblem. The emblem is based on a legend which tells how the Mexicans traveled from Aztlan (now the state of Nayarit) in search of the sign that Huitzilopochtli had told them they would find in the place where they should establish their Empire. This sign was an eagle on top of a nopal cactus devouring a serpent.
They found this on a small island in the middle of a lake. They settled there and found the city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico city.
Look closely at the emblem. Besides the eagle, the cactus and the serpent, there are other elements. Did you also know that our flag is considered one of the most beautiful in the world?
On May 20, 2008, the Internet site of the Spain paper ?20 Minutes?, opened up a contest for the ?most beautiful flag in the world?. 104 entries participated in the event, which received 7.5 million votes, as well as 25,000 comments. The winning flag was that of Mexico, which received 901,627 points!
The contest wrapped up on July 7, 2008, following seven days of voting in the ?finals? to which only 10 flags advanced, as the ten most voted on throughout the contest.
Following Mexico was the flag of Peru, which received 301,901 points and Guatemala with 272,541; these were followed by the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The symbolic contest, which gradually eliminated flags received the fewest votes, drew the attention of many countries that even promoted voting through the press. ?The most beautiful flag in the world? contest was the brainchild of a ?20 Minutes? reader. The paper has a special section on its website where the public can organize voting concerning various themes and issues.
