Here is photo of the flag was taken on October 13th, 2009 during a public act in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché.
In 1972 the local artist Manuel Emérito Ramos created a new badge for the Department of Quiché. The design was accepted on September 12, 1972 by a local high level committee, and meanwhile put locally in practice. On national level the department still is represented in publications and newspapers often by the arms of their capital city Santa Cruz del Quiché.
The symbolism of the design comes mainly from the Mayan heritage (the Ki’ches are the biggest Mayan people in Guatemala):
- The black circle with his leg means the Q for Quiché and contains 18 hieroglyphs, which represented the, then, 18 municipalities (in 2009 - 21 municipalities).
- The foot of the Q is a typical woven and bordered artwork and represents the traditional textiles
- In the centre appears a map of the Department in green for the rich nature and with the municipal limits, inside the map is a small picture of the Mayan temple Tohil
- On the right hand appears the national indigenous hero Tecún Umán, a brave defender against the Spaniards, and on the left side the national bird Quetzal
- The crown serves the holy book Popol Vuh, the only completely surviving Mayan literature.
The flag is a white cloth in the proportion of 5:8 with the arms in the center and with a golden border fimbration. The white stands for purity, peace, integrity and steadfastness.
Source: Victor Núñez Anléu “Escudo del departamento de Quiché”, en El Quiché al día, año 1, No IV, 2007.
Rudolf Wasem, 17 October 2009

Coat of Arms

image by Jaume Ollé

Here is another image (contributed by Rudolf Wasem, 17 October 2009)