^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Roquetas de Mar (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Flag of Roquetas de Mar, as seen on 18 September 2012 outdoors (left) and inside the Town Hall (right) - Images by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 October 2012

Presentation of Roquetas de Mar
Symbols of Roquetas de Mar

See also:

Presentation of Roquetas de Mar

The municipality of Roquetas de Mar (87,868 inhabitants in 2013, therefore the 2nd most populous municipality in the province; 6,000 ha; municipal website) is located 20 km west of Almería. The main sources of income are tourism and vegetable cultivation.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 October 2012

Symbols of Roquetas de Mar

The flag of Roquetas de Mar, adopted on 25 April 1996 by the Municipal Council and validated on 20 March 1997 by the Royal Academy of Cordóba, is prescribed by Decree No. 144, adopted on 20 May 1997 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 24 June 1997 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 72, p. 7,743 (text). This was confirmed by a Decree adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular flag in proportions 4:6, divided by a wavy diagonal running from lower left hoist to upper right fly, the upper part azure (sky) with a sun with the geometrical axis placed one third from the hoist, and the lower part argent (sea).

The flag hoisted outdoors, in various places all over the town, matches the official description, the first field being Navy blue. The flag displayed in the Town Hall has a Royal blue field, a golden yellow sun and a light, shiny gray lower field.

The coat of arms of Roquetas de Mar is prescribed by Royal Decree No. 486, adopted on 13 February 1979 and published on 16 March 1979 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 65, p. 6,596 (text). This was confirmed by a Decree adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Per fess, 1. Argent a castle gules standing on rocks sable, 2. Azure a sun or. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed [the modification of the description - which has the fields swapped - is in process].

The castle represents the initial Roman settlement of Turriana, located in the place known as Torre Quebrada [lit., Broken Tower], as well as the two famous castles of Santa Ana, destroyed in 1804 by an earthquake, and of Los Bajos, destroyed in 1811 by the English. The rocks (roquetas) and the sea (mar) alludes to the modern name of the town, making the arms canting. The sun is the symbol of its tourist and agricultural resources.
[Símbolos de las Entidades Locales de Andalucía. Almería (PDF file)]

The file submitted by the municipality of Roquetas de Mar for the modification of the coat of arms was declared null and void by a Resolution adopted on 19 May 1998 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 18 June 1998 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 67, pp. 7,528-7,529 (text). The coat of arms, adopted on 13 February 1997 by the Municipal Council, was rejected on 29 July 1997 by the Royal Academy of Cordóba; the Academy pointed out violation of the heraldic rules of tincture and an "unconfessed trend to the representation of a landscape". The Municipal Council failed to submitt a new proposal within the next five months.

Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 18 October 2012