The Tale About The Peruvian Flag

By BobbyRica | February 14, 2012

750px-Flag_of_Peru_(state).svg

If you happen to find yourself trekking the landscape with a local Peruvian guide, chances are he’s going to tell you a story about their national flag. Their flag was supposedly inspired by the sights that was seen on the majestic shores of Peninsula de Paracas — a desert peninsula just outside mainland Peru. In 1820, the Argentinian general Liberator José de San Martin had come from her shores in order to stop the Spanish from conquering the Andes. He was so tired from the long journey that he lay down and slept in the beach. When he had awoken, flamingos were flying in the sky. Their wings caught the red orange light of the sunset. The spectacle had mesmerized the good general so much that the flashes of red inspired him to include bands of crimson on what is now the national flag of Peru. Of course, this story is all hogwash as I later found out.

If you want to know about the Peruvian flag, click here. And if you’re still in the mood to read about the history of the flog, hop down over here.