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Barranquilla (Atlantico, Colombia)

image by Carlos Thompson, 10 November 2004

The Flag
Flag with 5 point Star
Coat of Arms
2016 Logo flags
Carnaval de Barranquilla flags

See also:

The Flag

This was the Cartagena State flag (1811-14) and the United Provinces on New Granada provisional flag (1814). The star is eight-pointed, but is frequently drawn five-pointed. This flag was previously reported as Atlantico Department flag.
Jaume Ollé , 8 September 1996

I was in Barranquilla, Colombia, a couple of weeks ago and I found out that cuadrilongas with eight-pointed stars were far more common than those with five pointed stars. Actually the only cuadrilonga with a five-pointed star I saw was painted on a wall. I could not get confirmation by any native, though. So even if the five-pointed star flag is the official one, the eight-pointed star flag (same as the flag of Cartagena) is the flag in common use.
Carlos Thompson, 15 May 2004

Barranquilla official site www.alcaldiabarranquilla.gov.co seems to officially confirm the cuadrilonga flag with eight-pointed star and a Coat of Arms with some different elements than the Atlantico Coat of Arms.
Carlos Thompson, 11 August 2004

At the website of the Barranquilla District Mayor's office, the flag is shown and described. They describe the flag as composed of three rectangles or elongated squares (cuadrados longos -- cuadrilonga), red, yellow and green with an eight-pointed star. This confirm my observations in Barranquilla of the eight-pointed star. above is such a flag with 1:1:2:1:1×1:1:6:1:1 distribution. (I have seen also 1:1:1:1:1 flags). This should make Barranquilla flag equal to Cartagena flag (and both equal to the historical Cartagena flag). However, most flags displayed in Cartagena do show a difference: non of the points in the star points to the top. as shown in www.cartagenacaribe.com. I do not know, however, if there is an official difference.
Carlos Thompson, 10 November 2004

In the 'Museo Romantico' in Barranquilla you can find a display that tells the story of the history of the flag of Cartagena and Barranquilla in Spanish. To sum up in English it tells, that the red, yellow and green flag with an eight-pointed star at first was designed 1811 during the independence of Cartagena, and in 1814 became the flag of the United Provinces of New Granada. In 1910 then the city council of Barranquilla decided that the flag of Cartagena might serve as well as the flag of Barranquilla to indicate the comon patriotic heritage of the people. However, there is nothing said about the changing the star's eight points in the centre of the flag.
Nahne Bienk, 12 February 2008

Barranquilla was established in 1629 and was granted the title of "Villa" (Village) on April 7, 1813 together with the adoption of its arms, both by Decree of the then President of the "Estado de Cartagena" since at the time Barranquilla was part of Cartagena and was loyal to it in its struggle against Santa Marte. It later achieved status as a city in October, 1857.
Sources: http://www.alcaldiabarranquilla.gov.co/r_historica.asp
https://barranquilla.gov.co/descubre/conoce-a-barranquilla/informacion-general
https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/barranquilla/la-bandera
and https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandera_cuadrilonga

The flags description is as follows (original in Spanish):
"...consisting of three long rectangles or (long) squares (that's why it's called a quadrilonga), in the colors red, yellow and green, in the center of which there is a white eight-pointed star that symbolizes the eight confederated Provinces."
Source: http://www.alcaldiabarranquilla.gov.co/simbolos.asp

Barranquilla is currently officially designated as a "Distrito" (District) according to "Artículo 328 de la Constitución Política de Colombia, 1991" (Article 328 of the Political Constitution of Colombia, 1991 ) (https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co) as well as "Acto Legislativo 1 del 18 de Agosto de 1993" (Legislative Act 1 of August 18, 1993 ) (https://www.suin-juriscol.gov.co/viewDocument.asp) in which is formally named as "Barranquilla, Distrito Especial, Industrial y Portuario" (Barranquilla, Special, Industrial and Port District).

Esteban Rivera, 23 February 2026

Flag with 5 point Star

image by Jaume Ollé, 15 May 2000

Above is the flag according the constitution provisions. Same image is featured in the arms. The 8 pointed yellow star is the supposed original flag of the republic of Cartagena was described only after that the provincial flag was already adopted. When the provincial flag was adopted the Cartagena republic flag was reconstructed as the above and was adopted as such.
Jaume Ollé , 15 May 2000

I live in Barranquilla, Atlantico, Colombia. The green, red-white-fringed, five-point star flag is the flag of the city of Barranquilla, and the 8 Points Star Version is one is the Cartagena's.
Carlos A. Leiva, 18 July 2000

Coat of Arms

image from www.alcaldiabarranquilla.gov.co

image located by Luis Carrillo, 7 July 2002

image located by Esteban Rivera, 23 February 2026
Source: https://escudodeldptodelatlantico.wordpress.com/2007

The Atlantico Governorship site www.gobatl.gov.co also reports a different Coat of Arms. Having seen different versions of the Coat of Arms of both Barranquilla (Capital of Atlantico) and Atlantico, it seems to me that they are different artistic representations of one Coat of Arms; with the one at the Governorship's site as the current official one for the department. While the Coat of Arms in these two official sites are different, I have found a continuum of Coat of Arms at different sites that mix the elements, which show a similar origin.
Carlos Thompson, 11 August 2004

2016 Logo flags

image located by Esteban Rivera, 23 February 2026
Source: https://laotraverdad.com/barranquilla-cerro-un-carnaval-2026

Logo

image located by Esteban Rivera, 23 February 2026
Source: https://barranquilla.gov.co

The city of Barranquilla features two new flags (most likely since 2016) as part of their rebranding. One of them is the logo (http://grupoelpoblado.com/images/vimo/logo_l3.png) featuring the 2016-2019 (source: http://www.barranquilla.gov.co/politica-y-planes-institucionales/politicas-y-planes) in the middle over a white horizontal flag, which features the slogan, "Capital de Vida" (English: Life Capital), as seen here: http://www.laotraverdad.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Casas-distritales-de-Cultura-1.jpg (source: http://www.laotraverdad.info/la-grandiosa-colorida-fiesta-casas-distritales-cultura-la-eda-la-guachernag/). A variant is the same flag scheme, but with colors inverted, as seen here (from 3:26 onwards): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29JAm-4FuI.

The other is the logo (very similar to this one: http://www.protransparencia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/alcaldia-de-barranquilla.png, but the three-color stripe located to the left of the coat of arms in black outline) featuring the title "Alcaldía de Barranquilla" (English: Mayorship of Barranquilla) in the middle, over a horizontal white flag.

Both of them were seen just moments ago during a tv broadcast on WinSports TV channel which aired a sponsored video of the city, most likely a short version of the videos aired as part of the "Barranquilla Capital de Vida - Emisión" (English: Barranquilla Life Capital - Episode...), by the official YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/alcaldiabarranquilla).

For additional information go to Barranquilla (official website): http://www.barranquilla.gov.co/
Esteban Rivera, 7 March 2018

Carnaval de Barranquilla flags

"The Carnaval de Barranquilla (English: Carnival of Barranquilla) currently takes place four days before Ash Wednesday. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century: very little is known about exactly how and why this carnival began. There are many theories; the most popular belief is that the carnival is the welcoming of spring and a celebration of birth and renewal. The carnival originates from a combination of pagan ceremonies, catholic beliefs and ethnic diversity and is a mixture of the European, African and Indian traditions, dances and music. It was at first a holiday for slaves, and grew to be a celebration of the region.

Local beliefs date it back seven centuries and it is known that a great deal of the traditions were brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese. The first notable date in the Carnival's history is 1888, when a figure known as King Momo appeared in the documented history of the Carnival. It has been held in some semi-continuous form since 1923, to be permanently held since 1959. The organization has depended on the ad hoc "Junta Organizadora del Carnaval de Barranquilla" (English: Organizing Board of the Carnival of Barranquilla) depending on the government of the Department of Atlantico (1941); the semi autonomous "Junta Organizadora del Carnaval" (English: Organizing Board of the Carnival) (1946); Junta Municipal del Carnaval (English: Municipal Board of the Carnival) (1947); the "Junta Organizadora del Carnaval de Barranquilla" (1958) (fully dependent on the government of the Department of Atlantico) and finally the establishment in 1959 of the "Junta Permanente del Carnaval" (English: Permanent Board of the Carnival) In the early 1990's the "Fundación Carnaval de Barranquilla" (English: Carnival of Barranquilla Foundation) and it has since organized the event."
Sources: http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/carnaval-de-barranquilla-origen/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barranquilla%27s_Carnival and https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnaval_de_Barranquilla.

It seems that every year a new flag is unveiled and although the flags are very similar, there seems to be not a singular flag, but a different one for each year. Also, there is no clear date when the carnival hoisted its first flag but records show as early as 2006, although there is a flag seen in this 1956 video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNNHVibxub4) and even earlier in 1953 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmtJ9nr6-aA) but it is not clear if the flags featured are that of the Carnival, or flags. However, the flag features elements from the event. such as hats, confetti, fireworks, etc.

The 2006 version of the flag is supposed to be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XezRhzKi5ho (even though they mention the flag raising, it is not possible to see it on video)
The 2011 version of the flag is seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf8b0Nj5RCs
The 2012 version of the flag is seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPFJvcGaw0k
The 2017 version of the flag is seen here: https://static.wixstatic.com/ (source: https://www.imaginacionypublicidadsas.com/copia-de-exterior) as well as here: http://www.barranquilla.gov.co/cultura/images/2013/izada_bandera.jpg
(source: http://www.barranquilla.gov.co/cultura)
The 2018 version of the flag is seen here (second flag from left to right, from 0:50 onwards): https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nsZ9RRIme5c/maxresdefault.jpg, source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsZ9RRIme5c

For additional information go to Carnaval de Barranquilla (official website): http://www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org/
Esteban Rivera, 7 March 2017

A variant flag is observed to have been displayed during the most recent version of the city's carnival held between February 14-17, 2026: even though the flag has been spotted in such an event, it is not the event's flag, but actually a variation using the city's coat of arms in b/w, with the city's name as a logo (wordmark) in the middle of a white horizontal background.

Esteban Rivera, 23 February 2026