Peru Flag

Flag History

According to legend, General Jose de San Martin saw a great number of flamingos when he arrived in Peru in 1820. Taking this as a good omen, he decided that white and red should be the colors of the Peruvian Legion that he founded to liberate Peru. The white represents peace, dignity, and progress. The red symbolizes war and courage. In the state flag, the arms show symbols of the animal kingdom, vegetable kingdom, and mineral kingdom. The laurel wreath above the shield is a symbol of the republic. The palm and laurel wreath around the shield is a symbol of peace and the will to defend the country.

Flag Date of Adoption

25 February 1825

Flag Symbolism

Three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red. The state flag also has a coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a vicuna, a cinchona tree (the source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath

Peru National Anthem

Listen to National Anthem
Anthem History "Somos libres, seámoslo siempre" is the national anthem of Peru and was written by José de La Torre Ugarte and composed by José Bernardo Alcedo, who won a contest run by Don José de San Martín, known for being the liberator of Peru, in 1821. It was performed for the first time by Rosa Merino in the Municipal Theater of Lima.
Anthem Lyrics

Somos libres, seámoslo siempre



Chorus:

Somos libres, seámoslo siempre

y antes niegue sus luces el sol,

que faltemos al voto solemne

que la patria al Eterno elevó.



Largo tiempo el peruano oprimido

la ominosa cadena arrastró;

condenado a cruel servidumbre

largo tiempo en silencio gimió.



Mas apenas el grito sagrado

¡Libertad! En sus costas se oyó,

la indolencia de esclavo sacude,

la humillada cerviz levantó.



Ya el estruendo de broncas cadenas

que escuchamos tres siglos de horror,

de los libres al grito sagrado

que oyó atónito el mundo, cesó.



Por doquier San Martín inflamado,

Libertad, libertad, pronunció,

y meciendo su base los Andes

la anunciaron, también a una voz.



Con su influjo los pueblos despiertan

y cual rayo corrió la opinión;

desde el itsmo a las tierras del fuego

desde el fuego a la helada región.



Todos juran romper el enlace

que natura a ambos mundos negó,

y quebrar ese cetro que España,

reclinaba orgullosa en los dos.



Lima, cumple ese voto solemne,

y, severa, su enojo mostró,

al tirano impotente lanzando,

que intentaba alargar su opresión.



A su esfuerzo sellaron los grillos

y los surcos que en sí reparó,

le atizaron el odio y venganza

que heredara de su Inca y Señor.



Compatriotas, no más verla esclava

si humillada tres siglos gimió,

para siempre jurémosla libre

manteniendo su propio esplendor.



Nuestros brazos, hasta hoy desarmados

estén siempre cebando el cañón,

que algú n día las playas de Iberia

sentirán de su estruendo el terror.



En su cima los Andes sostengan

la bandera o pendón bicolor,

que a los siglos anuncie el esfuerzo

que ser libres, por siempre nos dió.



A su sombra vivamos tranquilos,

y al nacer por sus cumbres el sol,

renovemos el gran juramento

que rendimos al Dios de Jacob.

Anthem Lyrics English CHORUS

We are free, let's always be so

and may the sun deny its light

if we fail the solemn vow

that the motherland swore to the Eternal One.



For a long time the oppressed Peruvian

dragged the ominous chain;

condemned to a cruel servitude

for a long time, he cried in silence.



But once the sacred cry

Freedom! In its coasts, it was heard

the slave's indolence shakes,

the humiliated neck he raised.



Already the roar of angry chains

that we heard three centuries of horror,

from the free to the sacred cry

which the world heard astonished, ceased.



Everywhere Saint Martin inflamed,

Freedom, freedom, he pronounced,

and rocking the base of it the Andes

They announced it, also with one voice.



With its influence, the people awaken

and like lightning the opinion spread;

from the isthmus to the lands of fire

From the fire to the frozen region.



Everyone swears to break the link

that nature denied both worlds,

and break that scepter that Spain,

She leaned proudly on both of them.



Lima, fulfill that solemn vow,

and, severe, her anger showed,

to the impotent tyrant throwing,

who tried to prolong his oppression.



At his effort, they sealed the crickets

and the furrows that he repaired in himself,

They fueled hatred and revenge

that he would inherit from the Inca and Lord of him.



Compatriots, no more seeing her as a slave

if she humiliated three centuries she moaned,

forever let us swear her free

maintaining its own splendor.



Our arms, until today unarmed

They are always priming the cannon,

that one day the beaches of Iberia

They will feel the terror of its roar.



At their summit the Andes hold

the two-color flag or pennant,

that to the centuries announce the effort

that being free, he gave us forever.



In its shadow let us live peacefully,

and when the sun rises through its peaks,

let's renew the great oath

that we surrender to the God of Jacob.

All Countries
Afghanistan Akrotiri Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cook Islands Coral Sea Islands Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dhekelia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia, The Gaza Strip Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Jan Mayen Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, North Korea, South Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sudan, South Suriname Svalbard Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States (US) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Wake Island Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara World Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe