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# The Night Panama’s First Flags Were Sewn
- URL: https://balboa.news/the-night-panamas-first-flags-were-sewn/
- Published: 2026-11-04T19:17:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T19:17:21.000Z
- Author: Balboa News Desk
- Tags: Culture

Panama marks Día de los Símbolos de la Nación on November 4, honouring its flag, anthem and coat of arms. Behind the flag’s familiar red, white and blue lies a story of hurried sewing during the birth of the republic.

According to the Ministry of Government’s historical account, María Ossa de Amador and her sister-in-law, Angélica Bergamotta de Ossa, entered an abandoned house on the night of November 2, 1903.

Working by kerosene light with a portable sewing machine, they made the first two flags. The fabric had been purchased from shops including La Dalia, A la Ville de París and the Bazar Francés.

The design came from Manuel Encarnación Amador, son of Manuel Amador Guerrero, who became Panama’s first president.

The ministry dates the design to November 1\. Its blue and red represented the Conservative and Liberal parties, while white expressed the peace and unity intended for the new nation.

Official guidance associates the blue star with purity and honesty, and the red star with authority and law.

The first flag was presented on the evening of November 3, following Panama’s separation from Colombia. The ministry records its first procession through the streets on November 4.

The anniversary was long popularly known as Flag Day. Its present designation, used from 2013 following the 2012 legal reform, recognizes all three national symbols together.

María Ossa de Amador later became the country’s first first lady. Her role in making the flags remains one of the most widely remembered episodes of Panama’s founding.

**Sources:** MinGob