THINK MEXICAN

The Original Flag of Mexico

Mexico’s flag has seen several changes in its history. Although beautiful as is, its symbols and imagery are borrowed from an even more beautiful flag, that of the Mexica.

Long before it was green, white and red, it was a turquoise green said to represent nature and sovereignty.

Also different is the atl-tlachinolli symbol, Nahuatl for water and fire, emanating from the eagle’s mouth, not a serpent. Atl-tlachinolli representing the natural elements that give us life.

The Mexica saw the eagle with an atl-tlachinolli as both a symbol of nature’s power and of their sovereignty as a nation.

Spanish historians recorded this flag as the one flown in battle by Cuitlahuac and his troops the night they defeated Hernán Cortés and his men on the shores of Lake Texcoco on July 1, 1520.

Mexican scholar Ignacio Romero Vargas Iturbide reportedly discovered this flag in the Vatican’s private library. The Vatican has not officially recognized it being in their possession.

Photo Credit: Pantli Atl-Tlachinolli, Rubentzin; Mural Palacio Nacional, Diego Rivera; Stone sculpture, Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology.