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Merida State (Venezuela)

Estado Mérida

Last modified: 2014-05-22 by zoltán horváth
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[Merida (Venezuela)](2:3)
by António Martins, 22 October 1999



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Overview

The Mérida flag was adopted (after approbation by Legislativa Asembly the 5 August 1996) by executive Decree 401 of 5 November 1996 signed by governor William Davila Barrios and ratified by the secretary of the government Mario Jose Torres Rodriguez. The flag was designed by the vexillologist and poet Carlos Briceño Vera. The legal regulation was make by Dr. Francisco Martinez Rincones and Dr. Jose Luis Malaguera Rojas. This was published in the "Gaceta oficial -Estado de Mérida" no. 22 of 30 August 1996. The law has 10 articles and bears the signatures of Desiderio Rincon Pacheco (President), Lubin Diaz (First Vice-president), Gaston Gutierrez (Second Vice-president) and Gerardo Molina Barreto (Secretary). In the conmemorative poster are shown some interesting details: The state shield was created by Tulio Febres Cordero - 5 June 1905. The state anthem was created by Antonio Febres Cordero -19 April 1911 (I remember a latinamerican -Ecuatorian- president named Leon Febres Cordero but not aparently relation). Information was provided by the designer
Jaume Ollé, 14 February 1997

Following the indications at Meridanet, here is a new version of this flag. The law text is inconclusive about the construction details.
Flag of Me'rida State: Author of the design and [of the] description of the flag of Me'rida State: Mr. Carlos Briceño Vera. Published on the Official Journal of Me'rida State on august 30th 1996, year XCVI (96) No. 22-extra. Description. Colors: Emerald green, white and sky blue. Arrangement: Flag formed by two triangles ['scalene triangle' with all three sides of differnt sizes - They should say that one of the angles is 90 deg., though] of equal size, and one symmetrical [isosceles triangle] with a classic [meaning regular] five pointed star. The hoist triangle is emerald green, the fly triangle is sky blue, and the central triangle, pointing upwards, is white, and charged with a five pointed star in "bishop red" It's dimensions [of the flag] are a square and a half [2:3]. An intersting bit of the text says that the sixth star of the venezuelan national flag stands for Me'rida State.
António Martins (comments by Jonathan Dixon), 22 October 1999

The Meridenian flag has a mantled field divided in three triangles. The scalene emerald green triangle near the staff represents the mountains, valleys, prairies and forests of the State geography. The isosceles white triangle in the center, reminds the eternal snow of their "Sierra Nevada" ("the Snowed Ridge" - the Venezuelan Andes). The scalene sky-blue triangle represents the sky, the rivers, the lake and the lagoons of the region. The three triangles in conjunction symbolizes the Justice, the Equality and the Freedom: the three principal basements of the Venezuelan Independent Heroes and the Red Star reminds the courage and heroism of the Meridenian People. The name of the State remind the ancient Province of Merida, one of the seven which declared the Independence of Venezuela on July 5th, 1811.
Source: Oficial Gazette of the Merida State, #22 (Extraordinary) dated on Merida City, August 30th, 1996.
Raul Jesus Orta Pardo, 15 August 2000

The image at Meridatuya is wrong (reversed colors and wrong size of the star). The image at Meridaweb has a darker blue shade.
Jaume Ollé, 23 June 2001 and Pablo Acosta Ri'os, 3 October 2002


Flag Anthem

A song (Andine vals) is devoted to the "bandera merideña" (Flag of Merida) was created too by Carlos Briceño, and goes:

Bandera Merideña,(Flag of Merida)
Estandarte de mi tierra (Standart of my land)
Pabellon Andino (Andin ensign)
Oriflama de la Sierra (Mountain's oriflame)

Bandera Merideña (Flag of Mérida)
Trilogía de colores (Colour's trilogy)
Verde, blanco y azul (green, white and blue)
La tierra de los pensadores (Thinker's land)

Estandarte de mi tierra (Standart of my land)
De la solitaria estrella (of the alone star)
con orgullo representas (with pride represent)
nuestra patria Venezuela (our fatherland Venezuela)

Pabellón Andino (Andin ensign)
en balcones y ventanas (in balcony and windows)
tu flameas altivo (you fly altive)
en tu tierra soberana (in your sovereign land)

Oriflama de la Sierra (Mountain's oriflame)
del condor su cordillera (from condor your mountain range)
De las nieves que perpetuan (from snows that perpetuate)
¡Viva la merideña señera! (Long live the Merida flag)

Jaume Ollé, 14 February 1997