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San German (Puerto Rico)

San Germán

Last modified: 2021-08-25 by rob raeside
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by Blas Delgado, 16 November 2004



See also:


Overview

The right flag of San German, Puerto Rico consist of three horizontals bands in the following order: violet or purple the superior, white, the center band and green the inferior band. The Coat of Arms in the middle of the flag.
Juan Colon de Jesus, 19 June 2000

San Germa'n - The flag is a horizontal green-white-purple (violet) triband (in that specific order), as attested by several sources. Green stands for the Episcopal dignity and the colors of the blazon of Christopher Columbus and his son, Diego, Viceroy of America. White stands for the blood purity of the great families, who were the most distinguished, which came to colonize San Germe'n (according to a book by Fray Inigo Abad) and the limpidness of Guanajibo River, whose waters (which were considered medicinal) were being taken to Europe for that order.The shield crown is 'masoned ("mazonada") in sable (black) and adjured ("adjurada") in sinople (green)', which means that the lines depicting the joints between the stones are black and the hollow spaces - doors, windows and other empty spaces - shall be green.
Blas Delgado, 16 April 2001

Green (Vert) does not appear at all in Columbus' coat-of-arms (at least not in the escutcheon). I am also afraid there is no English blazon equivalent of the Spanish "aclarado" (not "adjurado", a horrible translation from the French "ajoure'"). So the best thing is to blazon it as "windows and gate Vert" (of course not "sinople" either which is Spanish for "Vert").
Santiago Dotor, 22 May 2001

It says as follows: "But the green color with the gold of the colors ("tinctures") of this first quarter, has also another symbolism: in first place they remind us of Don Diego Colo'n, first born to America's Discoverer (but now it does not implicitly mention Columbus' blazon), and who in his role as governor of the Indies with seat in Santo Domingo, decreed that San Germa'n should be the name of the town.  It was his purpose to honor in this manner the Queen Dona Germana de Foix, second wife of Don Fernando el Cato'lico..."
Could it be that these colors do appear in Diego Colo'n's coat of arms?
Blas Delgado, 23 May 2001

I don't think so. Diego Colo'n would have inherited his father's arms. Unlike green however, gold (Or) is certainly present in Columbus' arms. But where does gold (or yellow) appear on San Germa'n's flag?
Santiago Dotor, 23 May 2001

Good point. In no place of the flag, only in the first quarter of the city Coat of Arms, and it would be to stretch the similitude too far.
Blas Delgado, 24 May 2001

Juan Colón de Jesús state that the San Germán flag is a horizontal tricolor with purple, white and green bands, in that order (from top to bottom). This is identical to the one presented by Lexjuris. I have two sources that say that the actual order is the inverse: green, white and purple. I have no reason to doubt Juan, given to the fact that he has studied extensively and has done a lot of research about PR flags. I just would like to know his sources.
Blas Delgado, 6 August 2001

In reference to the doubts the Blas Delgado may have about order of the bands for the San German, Puerto Rico, flag, I personally recieved an email from Isidro Negrón Irizarry, the Mayor of this town where he let me known that the flag I had in my website <www.linktopr.com> was inverted. The corrcted order is the superior band green, followed by white and and the inferior violet.
Joe Delgado, 12 January 2005


Reported WRONG Flags

1)
Flag with inverted colors
by Blas Delgado, 16 November 2004

2)
by Phil Nelson , 5 Febuary 2000

This image based on pueblos-de-puertorico.com site (defunct) which seems to differs from the one at lexjuris site which is violet - white - green. or in Spanish: 'Violeta - (o pu'rpura)'. It has the Coat of Arms in the middle. San Germa'n is in southwest Puerto Rico in sugar and coffee farming region; Inter-American University of Puerto Rico (1912); 16th century church; founded 1508, moved to present site 1573. There are 34,962 Inh.
Jarig Bakker, 4 Febuary 2000


Coat of Arms


by Nelson Román, 4 August 2004

The coat of arms of the city of San German was designed by Dr. Luis Torres. I was commisioned to do the escudo for the Cathedral in San German and met with Dr. Luis Torres.
Lance, 17 March 2003

The pontificial hat and the walking stick represents San Germán, bishop of Auxerre (France) and patron of the city. The pontificial hat represents excellence, the sign of the episcopal dignity: it represents the fullness of the priesthood. The walking stick represents the power of the bishops to shepherd their spiritual flock. The green background represents the pontificial hat of patriarchs, archbishops and bishops, as well as their cords and tassels that for some years have been established also by the Holy See as the standard color of the canopies and other episcopal parameters. But the green color, along with the gold, which are the colors of this first quarter, have in addition another symbolism: First they remember don Diego Colón, first-born of the discoverer of America, and that in his character of governor of the Indies, with seat in Santo Domingo, by decree named the population San Germán. It was his intention to honor Queen Germana de Folix, second wife of don Fernando the Catholic, the monarch who imposed and presided over the colonization of Puerto Rico. First Quarter: The green and gold remember, who gave San Germán its name. Second Quarter: The second quarter exhibits the arms of the kingdoms of Aragon and Sicily, where don Fernando the Catholic reigned. Third Quarter: In this quarter the arms combine with the County of Foix and the Kingdom of France, which constitute the family shields of Germana de Foix whose name perpetuates the city of San Germán. Fourth Quarter: Is Ponce de Leon's shield, branch of Puerto Rico that corresponds to a lineage (of many ramifications) that connected with the royal house of Leon, adopting its arms with a rampant purple lion, crowned and armed in gold in a silver field. This same shield, alone and in combination with other heraldry quarter elements, are used in the houses of the Ponce de Leon of Spain. The branch of Puerto Rico, for some unknown reason, was designed without a crown, like in the old church of Santo Tomás (today San José) in San Juan, and in the seals that Monsignor Murga reproduced in his book about Ponce de Leon. In its shield, San German's quarter perpetuates the memory of the conqueror of Puerto Rico, who always offered his stimulus and protection. The Crown: Is a civic or municipal standard and is used as a stamp for towns and cities, San Germán was assigned five towers to denote that this population formally obtained the title of city from the Spanish crown, in the last century.
Source: <www.linktopr.com>.
Nelson Román, 4 August 2004