Aruba Flag

Flag History

In March 1976, at the suggestion of the Flag Research Institute in Winchester, Mass., I went to Aruba to review the 700 plus designs that had been entered in a competition for a new island flag. I quickly learned that many Arubans wanted a distinctive flag that would represent their history and goals as they negotiated for a "status aparte" within the Netherlands Antilles.

A Flag Commission consisting of Julio Maduro, Epi Wever, and Roland Donk had met for months, going over colorful designs from the contest. They wanted no heraldic emblems, slogans, or writing on the flag for such flags could not be read at a distance. It had to be inexpensive to manufacture, and "unlike any other flag, so it would be distinctive to Aruba." They rejected designs that did not meet their guidelines. They also wanted a design simple enough that a schoolchild could draw it, with colors contrasting well in order to be seen at a distance. Most importantly, they insisted that the flag, in its symbols and colors, represents Arubans historically and culturally.

We found three designs that met their requirements. But Julio Maduro told me that the Island Council had already said those designs were not distinctive enough. On 6 March 1976, the Flag Committee decided had found two or three designs, which, with modifications, could represent Aruba. But, on my advice, the Committee decided not to limit itself to those few designs. Instead, it chose to bring together designs and colors that Arubans who entered the contest had used and make a new flag with those. By taking ideas from the entire competition, the flag would represent more than the ideas and inspirations of one contestant and would reflect symbolically the feelings of most Arubans.

Symbols in the competition were often discs, stars, and stripes that were said to represent the sun, which was usually yellow or gold, but sometimes red. The sun's central position in Aruba's way of life and economy meant the health and happiness of all Arubans in a comfortable, benign climate. The sun also represented economic growth and national unity. Julio Maduro and Epi Wever told me that more than 50 nationalities live in Aruba in tranquility admired throughout the world.

Stripes were found in more than half of the entries. Some were simple tricolor flags recalling 19th-century European democracies. Others were narrow bands dividing fields of color in more modern color combinations, often involving blue and yellow.

Another frequent symbol was a star. Stars represented the island itself, as well as liberty, unity, or rebirth. But many of the stars were not the traditional five-pointed, but a bold four-pointed version. I told the commission that these special four-pointed stars were unlike any star found on any national flag. Julio and Epi said children often drew Christmas stars this way.

Deciding that the Aruban flag ought to feature some combination of stars, stripes, or discs, the Commission examined the colors they found in the contest. Blue, the most popular color, represented the Aruban sky or the Caribbean Sea, in shades from aquamarine to dark blue. The other popular color was yellow, nearly always said to represent sunlight. White symbolized Aruba's unique beaches, while red stood for sunset, the island's clay soil, progress, or the blood of Arubans.

The flag contest demonstrated that Arubans feel their country is unique in the world and in the Caribbean, that it enjoys an immutably beautiful sea and sunlight, and that many nationalities live in harmony. Aruba is a proud country, these flags declared, economically stable because of tourism and industry.

I felt that the background color had to be blue, ideally the vivid bright blue of the sea. Because Aruba is a peaceful Mecca for people around the world, the bright blue of the United Nations flag was an ideal match. Out of the blue field, a star rises in that corner, the canton, that is highest and nearest the hoist. Placing the star there meant it would be seen even when the flag is moving in the breeze. The star has, as many Arubans wanted, four points. Suggesting a compass, its four points represent North, South, East, and West, acknowledging that Arubans came from many nations in order to live in unity and strength.

The star is red because much of the soil of Aruba is red, but it is bordered in white to suggest the waves beating on its white beaches. The red soil of the interior ends with white beaches before the blue sea -- a symbol of the island itself. And the star refers also to the island's unity, diversity, vigor, and beauty.

The Commission pointed out that the four points also represented the four major languages: Papiamento, Spanish, English, and Dutch. And the red in the star reminded Julio Maduro of the Indians who once lived on the island, and of bloodshed by Arubans during the war. White was Aruba's honesty, while blue, the color of hope, represents its future and its ties to the past.

Finally, looking to the future, two narrow stripes were drawn across the blue field to suggest the movement toward "status aparte." Those stripes were very narrow because Aruba is a part, but not isolated as it embarks on its path. One stripe represents the flow of tourists to sun-drenched Aruba, enriching the island as well as vacationers. The second stripe is for industry, all the minerals (gold and phosphates in the past, petroleum in the early 20th century). The stripes announce a new, distinctive nationality with economic strength guaranteeing its independence, standing apart from the rest of the world, but working internationally.

The Flag Commission was happy with the flag that it had put together, but we had to find seven variations to give the Island Council a choice. We made four designs similar to the first one, but in fewer colors, some with white and blue only, others with white, blue, and yellow. And the original three designs that the Commission had chosen were added as well.

Betico Croes asked me to stay for another week until the Island Council selected the flag of Aruba so I could answer questions about the design. After they voted for the first design, I helped arrange to have the first flags manufactured in the United States. They were ready in time for hoisting for the first time on 18 March 1976.

The flag was consistent with the Flag Commission's guidelines. The design is simple but unlike any other flag, it is the only flag with a four-pointed star. It is visible at a great distance and looks good flying in the ceaseless wind of Aruba or outstretched against a wall. Its elements are large and well placed, and its colors contrast well. It is easily drawn and inexpensive to manufacture. Every color, the star, the stripes, and the placement of elements are symbolic of this island. No other country could be represented by a white-bordered, four-pointed red star, and anyone who knows its symbolism will remember well the flag of Aruba.

Flag Date of Adoption

16 March 1976

Flag Symbolism

The flag is blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner; the star represents Aruba and its red soil and white beaches, its four points the four major languages (Papiamento, Dutch, Spanish, English) as well as the four points of a compass, to indicate that its inhabitants come from all over the world; the blue symbolizes Caribbean waters and skies; the stripes represent the island's two main "industries": the flow of tourists to the sun-drenched beaches and the flow of minerals from the earth.

Aruba National Anthem

Listen to National Anthem
Anthem History The Dutch anthem "Wilhelmous van Nassowe" is the official anthem of this Dutch colony, however, a local anthem, a waltz, has been unofficially adopted as well, and is in use on the island.
Anthem Lyrics ARUBA DUSHI TERA

Padu Lampe  Rufo Wever

Aruba, patria aprecia

nos cuna venera.

Chikito y simpel bo por ta,

pero si respeta!




Chorus




Oh! Aruba, dushi tera,

nos baranca tan stima!

Nos amor pa bo t'asina grandi,

c'un tin nada pa kibr'e.

Bo playanan tan admira

cu palma tur dorna.

Bo escudo y bandera ta,

orgullo di nos tur.




Chorus




Grandeza di bo pueblo ta

su gran cordialidad.

Cu Dios por guia y conserva

su amor pa libertad.
Anthem Lyrics English Aruba beloved home

our venerated cradle

though small and simple you may be

you are indeed esteemed.




Refrain:




Aruba our dear country

our rock so well beloved

our love for you is so strong

that nothing can destroy it. (repeat)

Your beaches so much admired

with palm trees all adorned

your coat of arms and flag

the symbols of our pride.




Refrain




The greatness of our people

is their great cordiality

and may God guide and preserve

its love for freedom.




Refrain
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