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Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of Gran Canaria, two versions - Images by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

Symbols of Gran Canaria
Pennant of Gran Canaria
Former flag of Gran Canaria
Municipalities in Gran Canaria
Movement for the Autonomy of Gran Canaria

See also:

Symbols of Gran Canaria

The flag of Gran Canaria is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 10 April 1989 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 26 April 1989 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 59, pp. 1,392-1,393 (text).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: A panel in proportions 2:3 [...]. Colours: Yellow and blue, aranged into two diagonal stripes, the yellow stripe at hoist. Coat of arms: The center of the panel shall bear the coat of arms of the Corporation.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the flag was introduced, without the coat of arms, in 1869, as the registry flag (bandera de matricula) of the newly established Maritime Province of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, replacing the flag from 1483.

The coat of arms of Gran Canaria is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 24 November 1990 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 7 December 1990 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 152, pp. 4,752-4,753 (text).
The coat of arms, validated by the Royal Academy of History, is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Per fess, 1a. Gules a castle or masoned sable ports and windows azure, 1b. Argent a lion rampant gules crowned langued and armed or, 2. Or a plam tree proper on a rock proper issuant from the base surrounded by two leghounds rampant affronty proper. A bordure gules charged with 10 swords argent crossed per saltire by pairs. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.

The shield, initially granted to the island in 1506 by Joanna the Mad, was subsequently modified added for the sake of differentiation from the coat of arms of the island's capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The 1st and 2nd quarters symbolize the rule exerted by the Crown of Castile over the island. The 3rd quarter shows the most characteristic plant of the island, together with the dogs alluding to the alleged etymology of the island's name ("Dog Islands"). The swords in the bordure stand for the battle fought by the Castilians during the conquest of the island.

Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 17 March 2010

"Super flag" of Gran Canaria - Photo by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 September 2011

The "super flag" of Gran Canaria was hoisted on 8 September 2011 at Fuente Luminoso Square. Nobody had an explanation why. My personal suspicion is that the reason was the Fiesta del Pino celebrated to honour the patron saint of Gran Canaria. On 15 September, when the event was over, the flag had disappeared.
According to Info Canarias, No. 1,063, 15 September 2011, the flag has a square footage of 300 sq. m. The dimensions of the flag should therefore be c. 14 m x 21 m. The estimated height of the flag pole is 60 m, with a basal diameter of at least 2 m.
The flag was acquired in 2007 by the Government of the Canary Islands led by José Manuel Soria. The cost was 360,000 Euro. After a few months, the flag was considered to be a safety risk for visitors and was taken down.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 9 October 2011

Pennant of Gran Canaria

Pennant of Gran Canaria, as seen on 11 September 2011 in San Agustín - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 October 2011

The pennant of Gran Canaria is in proportions c. 1:6, trapezoid, horizontally divided blue-yellow.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 October 2011

Former flag of Gran Canaria

Former flag of Gran Canaria - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

The former (1483) flag of the island was a white flag with a coat of arms (modified several times) in its centre, also used as the flag of the island's capital until it was abolished in 1896.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 March 2010

Municipalities in Gran Canaria

Movement for the Autonomy of Gran Canaria

The Movimiento por la autonomía de Gran Canaria (website) asks for the estabishment of the Autonomous Community of Gran Canaria (Comunidad Autonoma de Gran Canaria). Several flag proposals have been designed.

Valentin Poposki, 3 July 2009

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