8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JULY 27-AUGUST 2, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 A line of four flags over Jules Simoneau Plaza—also an MST transit station—at the corner of Munras Avenue and Tyler Street in downtown Monterey greets all who pass by. Most who glance upward will recognize the colors of Spain, Mexico, the United States and the state of California. They are all part of Monterey’s identity. Look closer, however, and you might notice a few discrepancies. The Mexican flag, for example, isn’t current. Instead of an eagle in profile devouring a snake, the great bird faces forward, its wings spread. Start to count and another item fails to add up: The stars and stripes falls short of the 50 you expect to see of the former. “If you look at the flags, you might say, ‘That doesn’t look right,’” admits Jordan Leininger, artifacts specialist for Monterey’s Museum and Cultural Arts Office. But it’s a clever nod to the city’s history. The flags represent periods when Monterey was part of Spain, Mexico and then, finally, the United States. The Spanish flag is white, with a coat of arms in the center, adorned with lions and castles. This design was used in Spain from 1770 to 1821. It is a copy of the flag Junípero Serra, a Catholic priest who founded missions in California, and explorer Gaspar de Portolá brought to the area in 1770. The Mexican flag represents 1821, the year that country assumed control of Monterey. History isn’t a straight line. Leininger points out that historians can compare journals, archives and visual information to create a representation. But there is no way of knowing if, say, Serra and de Portolá carried an outdated flag on their voyage without a specific description. Indeed, a red Spanish flag flew over the plaza until recently. “During the pandemic, we had a lapse of communication and put the wrong flag up there,” Leininger explains—although technically, it was correct if city historians followed the historical timeline. This is where probability comes into play: After Serra and de Portolá left for the New World, Spain changed its colors from white to red. The California flag recalls 1846. It features a grizzly bear with a star and red stripe across the bottom, imitating Texas’ Lone Star emblem. It represents the time when a group of American settlers in Alta California rebelled against the Mexican government and declared the California Republic. Under orders to occupy California should war break out between the U.S. and Mexico—and it did, in 1846—a force of sailors and Marines under U.S. Navy Commodore John D. Sloat landed in Monterey and declared it American territory. The flag they carried displayed 28 stars. After the Mexican-American War, Mexico lost more than half of its territory. California held a convention in Colton Hall in Monterey to apply for statehood. But there are also three other flags that represent Monterey and wave within city limits. Two are the city’s flag of diagonal stripes in yellow and black, set against four green and white quadrants. A ceremonial version of this flag includes gold elements—chains, anchors and sheaves of wheat. Monterey’s flag was designed by Paul Mills, director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. It was adopted by the City Council on Jan. 18, 1977. Three months later, it was raised for the first time during the Monterey Conference Center’s opening ceremony. The other flag over Monterey is an Argentinian symbol, but without its sun. It recalls how in 1818, Hipólito Bouchard sailed along the Pacific coast of North America, attacking cities and harassing Spanish forces. Among those cities was Monterey, and for a week Argentine colors waved over the city before the fleet departed and life under Spanish rule resumed. The Argentinian flag is at the city’s Lower Presidio Historic Park. There is also a monument recognizing Bouchard’s brief expedition. Each day, the flags of Monterey are raised over the city. Each day, they represent different points in the city’s varied history. If, that is, people pause to look up and count. Standard Bearers Seven flags that fly over Monterey tell the story of the city’s past and present. By Celia Jiménez The flags that wave over Simoneau Plaza in Monterey—from left to right, the state flag, U.S. flag, Mexican flag and Spanish flag—are designs from points in history, not the current versions. “You might say, ‘That doesn’t look right.’” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS
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