Peru's national symbols
The Flag
Created in 1820, it is said that the colors of the Peruvian
flag, red and white, occurred to General San Maritn during
the liberation campaign, when watching a flight of "parihuanas",
a variety of flamingo with red wings and white breast, after
awaking from a siesta in the desert of Paracas.
National Coat of Arms
A Congressional law passed by Simon Bolivar in 1825 consecrated
the Coat of Arms of Peru. This comprises three fields: sky
blue to upper right, with a vicuņa looking inwards; white
to the upper left with a cinchona tree and red in the horizontal
lower field, with a golden cornucopia spilling out gold coins.
These symbols represent the natural wealth of Peru. On the
top, like a crest, is a civic crown of oak seen from the side.
On both sides the Coat of Arms has a flag and a standard.
The National Anthem
Once the Protectorate was established after the country's independence, General Jose de San Martin initiated a contest to establish the national anthem as a symbol of sovereignty. The winning piece was written by Jose Bernardo Alcedo (music) and Jose de la Torre Ugarte (lit.). Alcedo and Ugarte's anthem, considered one of the most beautiful in the world, was sung for the first time in the Principal Theater of Lima on the night of September 24, 1821, by Rosa Merino de Arenas, and was adopted as Peru's National Anthem on April 15, 1822.