Flags, Symbols & Currency of Venezuela

The National Flag of Venezuela was officially adopted on March 26, 2006.

The National Flag of Venezuela featured three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red; with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of eight white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band. The Venezuelan flag has thus retained the three equal horizontal bands and three main colors of the banner of Gran Colombia - the South American republic that broke up in 1830. The yellow color of the flag symbolizes the riches of the land. The blue color represents the courage, perseverance, loyalty of the people of Venezuela as well as the ocean separating Venezuela from Spain. The red color symbolizes the bloodshed in attaining independence from Spain. The white stars represent the seven provinces of Venezuela that united in the war of independence by signing the Independence Act of July 5, 1811. On March 7, 2006, the then President Hugo CHAVEZ ordered an eighth star to be added to the star arc –to conform with the flag proclaimed by Simon Bolivar in 1827 and to represent the historic province of Guayana. The flag has a width-to-length proportion ratio of 2:3.

History of the Flag of Venezuela

In the 16^th century, the first flag that represented Venezuela was that of the Spanish ruled Kingdom of Granada which consisted of the Cross of Burgundy. In 1717, the Spanish colony was renamed as “the Viceroyalty of New Grenada” and a new flag with red-yellow-red horizontal tricolor was used. The center of the flag bore the Spanish Insignia and the crown of Spain above it. The region attained some freedom from Spain and thus came to be known as the “Captaincy General of Venezuela”. The two revolutionaries Manuel Gual and Jose Maria Espana in 1797, proposed a flag consisting of white-yellow-blue-red colors. Francisco de Miranda in 1801, proposed a flag with black-red-yellow colors. On July 5, 1811, Venezuela attained independence and adopted a flag containing yellow-blue-red stripes. In 1813, after a civil war, a Second Republic was established. The flag of this second republic had a red background and a centrally placed white diamond and a black rectangle. This flag was in use till 1814. The 3^rd Republic of Venezuela was established in 1817. A new flag with a horizontal tricolor of yellow-blue-red and 7 blue five-pointed stars on the yellow stripe. In 1819, Venezuela joined New Granada to form Gran Colombia. The flag featured yellow- blue-red tricolors and a shield depicting an Indian woman overlooking the sunset. In 1820, this shield design was modified to feature the Cundinamarca arms. From 1821-1822, the 3^rd flag of Gran Colombia featured yellow-blue-red flag colors and a new coat of arms. In 1822, the 4^th flag of Gran Colombia featured a different coat of arms. In 1830, the number of stars increased to 12 as Venezuela was separated from Gran Colombia. From 1830-1836, the newly independent republic known as “the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” featured the same flag colors but with a different coat of arms. In 1836, a separate flag was adopted with a differently designed coat of arms. In 1859, the coat of arms was replaced by the 7 white stars. In 1930 the stars were arranged to form an arc at the center of the flag. In 2006, an arch of 8 white five-pointed stars was added to the current modern flag of Venezuela.

National Anthem

• Anthem Title: "Gloria al Bravo Pueblo" (“Glory to the Brave People”)
• Music Composer: Juan José Landaeta
• Lyricist: Vicente Salias
• Date of Adoption: May 25, 1881

"Gloria al Bravo Pueblo" (“Glory to the Brave People”) is the national anthem of Venezuela. The music of the anthem has been composed by Juan José Landaeta. The lyrics of the anthem have been authored by Vicente Salias. The anthem was officially adopted on May 25, 1881.

The current official currency of Venezuela is Venezuelan bolívar (bolívar soberano) [VES]. This currency was introduced in the country on August 20, 2018. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos.

Coins

Currently, coins in two denominations of 1 bolívar soberano and 50 céntimos are issued.

Banknotes

100, 10,000, 20,000, 50, 000 bolívar soberano notes are currently issued.

Historical Currencies of Venezuela

The name bolívar of the Venezuelan currency is derived from the name of Simon Bolívar, the famous hero of the independence movement of Latin America. An 1879 monetary law led to the adoption of the currency in Venezuela. It replaced the venezolano, the former short-lived currency. The conversion was set at one venezolano was equal to 5 bolívares. In 1934, 3.914 bolívares was equal to 1 US dollar. For a significant period, the Venezuelan bolívar remained one of the most stable currencies in the Latin American region. However, post-February 18, 1983, the currency lost its stability and got highly devalued, a situation that continues to plague the economy of the country to this date. Hence, this date is aptly dubbed Black Friday by many people in Venezuela.

Bolívar fuerte was the currency of Venezuela from January 1, 2008-August 20, 2018. The coins of Bolívar fuerte were circular. The obverse side of these coins mentioned the denomination. The 8 stars of the Venezuelan flag and waves symbolizing the bands of the flag were also featured on the obverse side. The coat of arms and the name of the minting country was printed on the reverse side. Coins of all denominations had similar designs except for the 1 bolivar coin which featured Simón Bolívar’s portrait on the obverse side and the coat of arms, the denomination, and an inscription on the other side. The banknotes of the Bolívar fuerte had a portrait-oriented and a landscape-oriented obverse and reverse sides, respectively. The Bolívar fuerte was replaced by Bolívar soberano as the current official currency of Venezuela from August 20, 2018.