The legend of the patriotic symbols of Mexico It covers popular stories that narrate the creation and formation of national symbols, especially the national coat of arms. The United Mexican States has three national symbols: the flag, the coat of arms and the national anthem. The characteristics and modes of use are regulated by a 1984 law.
However, its origin is older. The eagle and the nopal on the shield are symbols that have been used since pre-Hispanic times; This is why they have served as representatives of the Mexican identity. The legend of the formation of the national coat of arms includes mythological elements of the founding of the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, capital of the Mexica Empire..
The eagle and its legend have remained in the Mexican collective imagination for centuries. Today it is the most important symbol of independent Mexico.
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The flag, the shield and the national anthem are the national symbols of Mexico. Since the independence of this North American country, the national symbols have accompanied its history with slight variations.
On February 8, 1984, the Law on the National Shield, Flag and Anthem was approved, which establishes the use of the three national symbols, their rules and regulations..
The national flag has three symmetrical vertical stripes, colored green, white and red. The national coat of arms has a distinguished brown eagle on the nopal, which is also located in the central part of the white strip of the flag..
For its part, the national anthem has four stanzas and refers to the Mexican military victories of independence.
The existence of the eagle in the national shield has pre-Hispanic origins. The legend of its origin directly involves one of the gods of the Mexica, Huitzilopochtli.
This affirms that this god had ordered his subjects Cuaucóhuatl and Axolohua to search for a new place to settle in the center of present-day Mexico..
Cuaucóhuatl and Axolohua came from Aztlán and began a journey guided by the orders of the god Huitzilopochtli, who had promised them beautiful and lush landscapes. Seeing this panorama, they decided to go to Temazcatitlán.
In Temazcatitlán was Cuauhtlaquezqui, a priest who was considered the reincarnation of the god Huitzilopochtli. As a representative of this deity on Earth, he instructed the subjects to return to the place of the beautiful landscapes.
Similarly, Cuauhtlaquezqui made an important indication to them. In the first place they would see a wild cactus, and on this an eagle would be calm, eating and combing its hair. That would be the place where the Mexica would reign.
According to legend, Cuauhtlaquezqui ruled that wherever the eagle was on the cactus, the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan would be formed, which will be enduring and a place of victories..
According to later studies, some researchers have affirmed that this founding myth that instituted the symbol of the eagle was created in the government of Itzcóatl, which lasted between 1427 and 1440, to show citizens the divine origin of their presence in the Valley of Mexico..
The creation of this legend was accompanied by the substitution of any document that could contain a different story..
There are many popular legends that attribute a representative meaning to all the elements of the current national coat of arms. These beliefs are protected in the founding myth of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, collected in the eagle on the nopal.
It is common to hear that the eagle eating a snake while it perches on the cactus is the triumph of the Sun over the Earth, represented at dawn. On the other hand, the nopal -which is a cactus- acquires another meaning. Its fruit, the prickly pear, would represent the human heart as an offering to the gods to receive light.
On the other hand, the branches present in the national coat of arms are usually attributed a particular significance. The oak or oak branch represents strength, while the laurel branch represents victory.
The fact that the eagle is devouring a snake has an important representation, since a Manichean association of good and evil can be made, extrapolated to the Mexican people and their enemies..
The national flag is the other great national symbol, which prominently bears the national coat of arms in its central part. Its proportions are 4: 7 and its three vertical stripes are green, white and red.
It is specifically the colors that have been the reason for the creation and narration of various legends, especially since the arrangement of these colors has historically not been clear. One of the most popular legends is that of the Army of the Three Guarantees.
The flag of the Army of the Three Guarantees, also known as the Trigarante flag, was the one used by the homonymous army that acted between 1820 and 1821, led by Agustín de Iturbide, who was crowned emperor of Mexico in 1822. This flag was already using the three current colors.
The Trigarante Army received this name because it was supported by three elements: fidelity to the Catholic Church, independence from Spain and the union between Americans and Europeans..
These three meanings were popularly related to those of the flag. White would be considered the color of religion and purity, red the union between Europeans and Americans and green the independence of the country..
However, after the fall of the Second Mexican Empire the meanings of these colors could not remain the same. For this reason, President Benito Juárez gave them another conceptualization: green was now hope, white was unity, and red was the blood shed by heroes..
However, the origin of the Trigarante Army is not the only one. Many claim that since 1812 there were already tricolor flags, such as the Siera Flag, very similar to the current one. This flag was used by indigenous insurgents in the Sierra de Zongolica and became the pioneer of the Mexican national flag..
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