Flag of the Canary Islands

The flag of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands was officially adopted on August 16, 1982. The flag is rectangular with three vertical stripes. One left side is a white stripes, a blue stripes is in the center, and a yellow stripes is on the right side. In the center of the flag is the coat of arms of the Canary Islands.

The flag was designed in the 1960s during the Canary Islands Independence Movement, or the Movement for the Independence and Self-determination of the Canaries Archipelago. The movement largely used violence to attempt to achieve independence for the Canary Islands from the Spanish government by force.

Carmen Sarmiento and her two sons, Arturo and Jesus, all activists in the Canary Islands Independence Movement, designed the flag of the Canary Islands on September 7, 1961. The family made approximately 3000 flags on paper ribbons and distributed them the following day at the “fiesta of the Virgin Mary of Pino.”

The flag of the Canary Islands combines the colors of two of the archipelago’s provinces. The province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (making up the western part of the Canary Islands) flew a blue and white flag; and the province of Las Palmas (making up the eastern part of the Canary Islands flew blue and yellow flag. According to some traditions, the white color represents the water that comes off of the mountains, the yellow represents the yellow canary songbird, and the blue represents the celestial blue sky.

The coat of arms of the Canary Islands consists of a blue shield with seven islands inside. Two dogs, in Latin called Insularia Canaria, support the flag, and are thought to depict a large breed of fierce dogs from which the Canary Islands archipelago gets its name. A red crown sits on top of the shield and the word “Oceano” waves on a ribbon over the top.