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San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí

Last modified: 2005-03-05 by juan manuel gabino villascán
Keywords: mexico | san luis potosí | coat of arms | unofficial flag |
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Note: San Luis Potosí has no official flag, but one in white charged with the coat of arms is broadly used:

San Luis Potosí unofficial white flag 4:7[Non-official proportions]
[Defacto flag]
[One or more variants under the same basic design]
by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 06, 2001.
See: Coat of arms on white background: unofficial flags

See: See also:

Presentation of San Luis Potosí
  • Official name: Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí / Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí
  • Short-form names: Estado de San Luis Potosí / State of San Luis Potosí; San Luis Potosí.
  • Name's meaning: It was granted to the city in honor of his founder Luis of Leija. Potosí was aded after the Bolivian Potosí since that is located on a rich minning soil, like that of the Bolivian city.
  • Location: Land-locked state, located in Center-North of Mexico. It neighbors the Mexican States of: Nuevo León and Tamaulipas (N), Veracruz-Llave (E), Hidalgo (SE), Querétaro de Arteaga and Guanajuato (S), and Zacatecas (W).
  • Area: 63,038 km2
  • Municipalities: 56
  • Population: 2'003,187 inhabitants
  • Capital: San Luis Potosí (Pop.: 239,000)
  • Statehood: 1824
  • Arms adopted: May 30, 1656.

INEGI and SEP
Reported by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 06, 2001.

Coat of arms

 San Luis Potosí coat of arms
by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, October 06, 2001.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says the name for the Bolivian city of Potosí and the department are taken from the mountain Cerro Potosí. The mountain's name is attributed by legend to a Quecha Indian word - potojchi - meaning thunder. The encyclopedia does not give the origin of the name of the Mexican city San Luis Potosi', but does say it was not founded until 1583 as a Franscican mission, while the Potosi' in Bolivia was founded about 1545.
So it is possible the friars named it after the Bolivian city for some reason. But perhaps it is only a coincidence, and the Potosí in Mexico came from a different word in a Mexican Indian language.
Ned Stmith, Sept. 7, 1999.

San Luis Potosí was named "City" on May 30, 1656, granting it a coat of arms featured by a mount, that one of "San Pedro" (St. Peter), on a field parted azur and gold, with two stripes of silver on azur, and other two on gold. At the top of height, a depiction of San Luis, King of France.

Info from: SLP Coat of Arms official web page

Quoted and translated by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, November 21, 2001.