Jocotepec townsfolk gathered for a belated Dia de la Bandera celebration on March 5 to mark the formal unfurling of a giant Mexican flag at the roadside lookout point (mirador) located adjacent to the highway bypass.
Measuring seven by 12 meters and raised on a flagpole standing 25 meters in height, the majestic banner waves over a panoramic view of the city and Lake Chapala’s vast expanse.
Jalisco Education Minister Jose Antonio Gloria Morales was present to preside over the inaugural ceremony at the elbow of Mayor Mario Chavez. The festivities kicked off with the trooping of a standard size flag and choruses of the national anthem, as a platoon of grade school children stood on the sidelines holding replicas of earlier flag designs. Older students appeared on stage for poetic recitations on flag themes and local restaurateur Ruben Varela belted out a couple of rousing tunes backed up by the Mariachi Nuevo San Juan.
Stunning as it is, the Jocotepec flag is dwarfed by a number of bigger banners that dot the nation’s landscape. The world’s largest Mexican flag – a gargantuan 34x60 meter model strung up on a 120 meter pole – is stationed at the Piedras Negras-Eagle Pass border line. Jalisco’s largest flies on the Cerro de la Reina in Tonala.