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La Orotava (Municipality, Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of La Orotava, as seen on 17 February 2010 - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 March 2010

Symbols of La Orotava

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Symbols of La Orotava

The flag of La Orotava is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 2 August 2013 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 9 August 2013 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 153, pp. 21,989-21,991 (text). The flag was originally approved on 30 April 2013 by the Municipal Council and validated on 23 July 2013 by the Heraldry Commission of the Autonomous community of the Canary Islands
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: White, rectangular [...] flag in proportions 2:3 (one time and a half longer than wide). In the middle of the flag shall be placed the coat of arms, described as follows:
Or a dragon tree proper. A bordure gules four apples or one in chief one in base and one in each flank. The shield supported by two dragons vert langued gules. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown open.

The flag was reported in use long before its official adoption. The flags in actual use have a big coat of arms, covering at leas 80% of the flag's width.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the dragon tree represents the big tree growing in the town for centuries. The golden apples and the dragon refer to the Garden of the Hesperides, watched by a dragon that never slept, and allegedly located in the Canary Islands. The four apples represent the four original settlements in the valley of Orotava. The dragons are also used as supporters on the coat of arms of the conqueror Alonso Fernández de Lugo.

Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 8 March 2013