TYB
Did not know that about the Mexican Flag.
Thanks Anon.
The Eagle in the Mexican Flag
The coat of arms on the Mexican flag depicts an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus devouring a rattlesnake. The image relates to the story of the founding of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. According to legend, the wandering Aztecs would know where to build their new city when they saw an eagle perched on a cactus. The image did appear to them, but in an unlikely place – on a tiny island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. To build their city, the Aztecs formed a number of small garden islands connected by causeways.
Based on a mistranslation of Aztec texts, the snake was later added to the story by the Spanish. Although the Aztecs revered snakes as symbols of wisdom and creation, the first missionaries reinterpreted the image. To the Europeans, it would come to mean the struggle between good and evil and the triumph of the Christian evangelizers in Mexico.
Today, the coat of arms is in the center of the flag, with a laurel branch symbolizing victory and honor underneath. The image was added to the flag for the Olympic Games held in Mexico City in 1968. Before this date, the flag was sometimes presented without the emblem. However, it looked too similar to the Italian flag, which uses the same colors.
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/the-story-behind-the-mexican-flag/