Mexico’s national flag shows a golden eagle eating a snake while perched on a cactus.
The emblem sits in the centre of Mexico’s vertical green, white, and red tricolour. The eagle grips the snake with its beak and talon while standing on a prickly pear cactus growing from a rock in a lake. This is the national coat of arms, reproduced on the white stripe.
The scene comes from the Mexica foundation legend. According to tradition, the Mexica were instructed to establish their city where they found an eagle on a cactus. They interpreted that sign at the site that became Tenochtitlan, founded in the 14th century on an island in Lake Texcoco; Mexico City developed from that settlement.
The flag’s current version was adopted on 16 September 1968 and confirmed by law in 1984. The eagle’s orientation and details have changed across Mexican history, so older flags can look different. Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru use distinctive national symbols too, but this eagle-cactus-snake scene is the signature emblem of Mexico.