The Secret History Behind Peru's Flag

Peru's flag was born from a flight of birds.

Legend has it that General José de San Martín, the Argentine-born military leader who led Peru's fight for independence, was traveling along the coast when he looked up and saw a flock of red and white flamingos soaring overhead. He took the colors as a sign — the same colors would become his new nation's flag.

True story or founding myth, the meaning stuck: red for the blood spilled in the fight for freedom, white for peace. San Martín raised the flag for the first time on July 28, 1821, the day he formally declared Peru's independence from Spain — the date printed on every Peru design in our catalog, and still celebrated as Fiestas Patrias every year.

A flag inspired not by a committee or a king, but by a moment of nature that one general decided was worth remembering forever.

Shop the Peru collection → — or explore the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Story Cards page.