San Lorenzo Canton (Ecuador)

Cantón de San Lorenzo del Pailón, Provincia de Esmeraldas

Last modified: 2021-02-13 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: san lorenzo de pailon | couple | torch | fish |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

• Introduction of San Lorenzo del Pailón Canton
• Flag
• Flags with arms
• Plain Flags
• Coat of Arms

• Ecuador
• Ecuador - Regions and Provinces

Introduction of San Lorenzo del Pailón Canton

In 2010 the canton had around 42,500 inhabitants, a bit more than 50% living in the namsake city. According to source San Lorenzo gained the rank of a canton on 22 March 1978. The first settlement was appropriated by the Spanish crown and established in 1735 as El Pailón. San Lorenzo itself was established on 10 August 1743 by Pedro Vicente Maldonado, an Ecuadorean scientist. This letter from 1860, written by Friedrich Gerstäcker, a German novellist, reveals many additional details about the area in the 19th century (in German only).
Source: Spanish WIKIPEDIA
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Feb 2021

Flag

According to source the flag is a blue-yellow-green horizontal tricolour with ratio of stripes approx. 5:4:4 with a semi-radiant yellow sun with face in canton. They flag may be appproved but simply not in use.
Source:cantonal webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Feb 2021

Flags with Arms

1:2 image located by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Feb 2021

2:3 image by Jens Pattke and Falko Schmidt, 1 July 2007

Both imagess display a tricolour with the coat of arms in the canton, the left one with ratio of stripes 2:1:1, the right one with 1:1:1.
Sources:Spanish WIKIPEDIA and obsolete governmental apge
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Feb 2021 and Falko Schmidt, 1 July 2007

Plain flags

The image of a plain tricolour with stripes of equal width is displayed in the statistics of the canton. Another one with stripes in "Greater Columbian proportions" 2:1:1 is depicted here. Furthermore this webpage displays the same flag with oval shield in the canton (see left image above).
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 Feb 2021

Coat of Arms

The shield is oval and fimbriated golden, depicting the faces of the indigenous couple at dexter, the man, being in front, is holding a torch, the couple id surrounded by a golden aurora ending under the treetop of a palm Vert at dexter, which ends as a reddish cornucopia in base, charged with some kind of golden box, and a red fish coming out of the cornucopia, all in front of a green mouth of a river with a rock in natural colour at sinister and a sail in cantre, all in all under a blue sky, under the fish is a golden chain with six green gemstones.
Meaning:
It is all a bit speculative, but ususally the torch is a symbol of freedom or liberation, the cornucopia of abundance. The aurora is mentioned in the local hymn. The fish might be a so called Green Terror (Spanish: Terror Verde, Latin: Andinoacara rivulatus), a colourful freshwater fish in the cichlid family. The fish originates from the Pacific side of South America from the Tumbes River in Peru to the Esmeraldas River in Ecuador. It is polymorphic and can have white or gold-orange edging to the tail and dorsal fins, being typical for the region. (click: here. The mouth of the river n the background might refer to to local lagoons (Estero Orgullo and/or Estero de Hoja Blanca and/or Río Tambilla).
The canton has also a dark blue logotypo with the white faces of an indigenous couple, three white stars and the flag coours ordered like expending rays in bend sinister.
Source: this webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Feb 2021

back to Esmeraldas Province click here