Last modified: 2015-05-07 by francisco gregoric
Keywords: chaco | provincia del chaco | presidencia roque saenz peña | general pinedo | las breñas |
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The Province of Chaco is administratively divided in 25 departments. These departments are represented as stars in the provincial flag. Inside each department there are a different number of municipalities of four kinds: Municipios de 1a. Categoría for the bigger ones and then Municipios de 2a. Categoría, Municipios de 3a. Categoría and Delegaciones Municipales creadas por el Gobierno Provincial.
Francisco Gregoric, 22 Oct 2014
![[Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena flag]](../images/a/ar-h-sp.gif)
The municipality of Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña (locally known as Sáenz Peña; 96,944 inhabitants in 2010, therefore the 2nd most populous municipality in the province) is located in the center of the Chaco Province, 170 km from Resistencia.
Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña was established on 1 March 1912 by Carlos D. Fernández, commander of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, who granted plots to six Spanish colonists of Andalusian origin. The settlement was built on a site known as Campo Largo, located at Km 173 of the Barranqueras-Metán railway.
The colony was set up to grow cotton "Mamita", a cultivar bred by the agronomist Augusto Schulz at the Colonia Benítez Agricultural Station, which was awarded the 1st prize in an exhibition held in Spain in 1905. In 1914, the Czech colonists Sasvata and Novotny sold in Resistencia the first cotton harvest from Sáenz Peña, initiating the cotton boom in the town. In the 1940s, Sáenz Peña was the first cotton producer in Argentina; the Cotton National festival was initiated in the town in 1947.
The municipality of Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña was established on 21 September 1923 and inaugurated on 16 November 1923.
Roque Sáenz Peña (1851-1914) was Deputy for the Buenos Aires Province (1876-1878). After his resignation, he served as a Colonel in the Peruvian army during the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). Back to Argentina in 1880, Sáenz Peña appeared as the favourite candidate at the 1892 presidential election; his opponents convinced his own father, Luis Sáenz Peña, to compete, so that the son withdrew and the father was elected. In the next years, Roque Sáenz Peña withdrew from politics and served as a diplomat; in 1910, he announced he would compete in the presidential elections. Seventeenth President of the Republic in 1910-1914, Roque Sáenz Peña significantly contributed to the democratization of political life by the electoral reform prescribed by Law No. 8,874 of 10 February 1912 (aka as Sáenz Peña Law).
The flag of Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña is prescribed by Municipal Ordinance No. 7,519 of 1 March 2013.
The flag is white with a green right-angles triangle at upper hoist and a light blue right-angled triangle at lower fly. In the middle of the flag is placed a golden yellow emblem.
The flag, selected in a public contest, was designed by 23-year old Roy Pablo Milán.
The green triangle represents the cropped fields and the high ecological value of the local mount and of the municipal ecological complex, the town's green lung.
The blue triangle represents the thermal water as a source of health.
The white and blue field recall that the town belongs to the Province of Chaco and to Argentina.
The emblem is made of three elements representative of the town's history:
![[General Pinedo flag]](../images/a/ar-h-gp.gif)
The municipality of General Pinedo (15,741 inhabitants in 2001, 11,332 in the town proper) is located in the southwest of the Chaco Province. The municipality is made of the towns of General Pinedo (11,332 inh.), Mesón de Fierro and Pampa Landriel.
General Pinedo is named for General Agustin Pinedo (1789-1852), a soldier who fought the British invasions in 1806 and 1807 and took part to the second siege of Montevideo in 1813-1814. Appointed Colonel by Rosas in 1832, Pinedo organized in 1833 the Revolution of the Restorers against General Balcarce. Appointed Minister of War and Navy by Rosas in 1835, Pinedo died from a sunstroke during the Battle of Caseros.
Manuel Dávila y Miguel Barbará purchased in the beginning of the 20th century the estate owned by Tomás Matías Pinedo Oliver, a descendant of the general. They founded a settlement named General Pinedo and a wood exploitation that failed, causing the return of ownership of the estate to its first owner.
A new, independent settlement was organized in 1911, with Juan Barrera as its first settler, a few kilometers from General Pinedo. Originally named Pueblo Fiscal (Fiscal Village, that is, independent village), the settlement was renamed in 1917 Ministro Ramón Gómez. Guillermo Welbers purchased in 1917 the old Dávila and Barbará's company, whose activity progressively increased from wood exploitation to agricultural colonization and cotton production. In 1923, Ministro
Ramón Gómez was the main settlement in the area, while General Pinedo remained the seat of the administration and of the Welbers company
The municipality of General Pinedo was established on 25 May 1912
The flag of General Pinedo is horizontally divided blue-white-green. The blue and green stripes are divided in four horizontal, equal stripes of different shades of blue and green, respectively. In the middle of the white stripe is placed a yellow monogram "GP" surrounded by ten green stars placed horizontally, five in the left part of the flag and another five in the right part of the flag. The stars have different shades of green.
The flag, designed by Lucas Rosalez (29), winner of a public contest organized by the municipality, was presented on 25 May 2011.
Blue represents the sky above General Pinedo. The brighter shades of blue highlight the cultural progress of the local society.
White represents cotton, the main source of income in the province of Chaco and, especially, in this part of southwestern Chaco.
The monogram made of the initials of the town's name already appeared on the municipal coat of arms. Yellow represents the colour of the rising sun, while the red outline of the letters represents the strength of progress. Yellow is also the colour of the huge locomotives used on the local railways.
The ten stars symbolize ten decades forming hundred years of existence of the place. The gradation of the shade symbolizes the growth of the local society.
Green represents the fields, symbolizing also growth and consolidation of production in this part of the province. Green is the colour of hope and youth, representing here the continuous and progressive participation of the youth to the every day's life of the community.
Ivan Sache, 05 Jan 2014
![[Juan Jose Castelli flag]](../images/a/ar-h-jc.gif)
The municipality of Juan José Castelli (27,201 in 2010) is the capital of the General Güemes Department, Chaco Province.
The Juan José Castelli, established on 21 March 1930, was settled in June 1931 by 300 families of Volga Germans coming from La Pampa. The colony was officially inaugurated and named on 3 October 1936. The municipality of Juan José Castelli was established on 1 April 1945.
The municipality is named for the lawyer and politician Juan José Castelli (1764-1812). Nicknamed "May Orator" or "Speaker of the May Revolution", Castelli was one of the leaders of the May Revolution.
The flag of Juan José Castelli is vertically divided yellow-white-green, with an emblem in the white stripe made of three vertical
celestial blue stripes arranged in a pyramid surmounted by a brown triangle.
The flag was officially presented on 9 August 2014 during the celebration of the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the Chaco Province. A drawing was presented, and it appears that the flag has not been produced in the cloth yet.
The flag was selected in the contest "Una Bandera para Mi Ciudad" (A Flag for my Town) organized by the municipality.
Fourteen proposals were evaluated by a jury that included Orlando Gadoti, the designer of the flag of the Chaco Province.
Arnaldo Soria, the designer of the flag, explained its meaning as follows:
Yellow represents the sun that always shine over the region.
White represents cotton and the part of the region dedicated to production.
Green represents the woods that surrounds the town.
The three blue lines represent the origin of the people who built up the municipality (the natives, the creoles, and the immigrants). The intercalation of white stripes recalls the national flag.
The emblem represents the local obelisk. This obelisk (18 m in height), erected on the main square of the town, was inaugurated on 3 October 1937 to celebrate the first anniversary of the official inauguration of the town.
Ivan Sache, 16 Aug 2014
![[Las Brenas flag]](../images/a/ar-h-lb.gif)
The municipality of Las Breñas (28,555 inhabitants in 2010; 2,543 ha) is located in the southwest of the Chaco Province, 260 km form Resistencia.
Las Breñas was settled in the 1910-1920 by colonists of 27 different nationalities (Americans, Austrians, Belgians, Brazilians, Bulgarians, Czechoslovaks, Danes, Dutch, Finns, French, Germans, Greeks, Hungarians, Indians, Italians, Jews, Lithuanians, Moldavians, Paraguayans, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Syrio-Lebanese, Spanish, Swiss, Turks, Ukrainians and Yugoslav) therefore the nickname of Provincial Capital of Immigration awarded to the town.
Las Breñas was first settled in 1910- 1912 by José Figueroa and his father Candelario Figueroa, who were joined in late 1912 by Isidoro Verón. The three colonists, all from from Tostado (Santa Fe), established the new settlement in the place known as El Pedernal. Candelario Figueroa moved in 1918 to Castelli, while his son moved to Pozo del Indio. He would come back only in 1973 to Las Breñas, where he died in 1977.
The commission sent in 1918 by the Directorate of Lands and Colonies to the Chaco National Territory recorded 56 plot owners in Las Breñas (40 Argentines, 12 Spanish, 3 Italians and one Turk). The first foreign colonist was Enrique Fredenreij, a Russian Jew who established the first shop of Las Breñas in 1915. The first drugstore was set up in 1916 by the Spaniard Anastasio López. Year 1917 saw the first Italian (Luís Melgratti) and Yugoslav (Silvestre Garma) colonists.
More central European colonists settled in Las Breñas in the next years, such as the Ukrainian Juan Romañuk, Miguel Posternak and Pablo Sevchenko (1921), the German Carlos Ruetz (1921), the Austrian Antonio Fischer (1921), the Russian Esteban Kopovoy (1922) and the Bulgarian carpenter Simeon Melincoff (1923).
The different ethnic groups settled in different areas of Las Breñas, the Germans in Pampa Sommer and Santa Elena, the Spanish in Pampa San Martín, the Italians in Pampa Mitre, the Czechoslovaks in Pampa La Porteña, and the Bulgarians and Ukrainians in Pampa del General.
The municipality of Las Breñas was established on 11 July 1921 nearby the railway station named for the local topography. According to the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, "breña" means "a burned land surrounded by rocks and planted with scrubs".
The flag of Las Breñas is prescribed by Municipal Resolution No. 317 of 18 June 2010, which also prescribes the 11th of July (Municipal Day) as the Municipal Flag Day.
The flag is horizontally divided blue-green by a broken line. A white representation of the Southern Cross is placed in upper hoist. A gray swallow is flying from the flag's fly on the line separating the two coloured fields.
The flag was selected among 42 proposals submitted in a public contest prescribed by Municipal Ordinance No. 2,066 of 18 November 2009. The winning design was submitted by Luis Daniel Ibáñez.
The flag is prescribed as follows;
The flag of Las Breñas is made of two coloured horizontal stripes The upper stripe, of blue colour, represents the merging of the constellation, of the sea that carried all the European immigrants to the western hemisphere, and of supreme values, especially reason opposed to passion, which allows the transmission of peaceful feelings.The lower stripe, of green colour, separated by a broken line representing the topography of the place and the "breñas" [scrubby area] for which the municipality was named, is a symbol of the greatness and generosity of the fertile fields, freshness, youth and spring, abundance and hope, and the perfect balance between youth, inner peace and eternal spring, as a symbol of hope in a new life in ours community.
The Southern Cross, the sole guide available to early travellers and immigrants, represents a mythological element and a symbol of religious feeling. It symbolized the melting of cultures, knowledge, prosperity, wealth and permanent guidance for a society in cooperative, collaborative and joint growth. The swallow recalls that Las Breñas is a melting-pot, where all those who crossed the sea to settle there and build their future expressed loyalty and fidelity to their new land, respecting each other's freedom, traditions and costumes. The swallow flies towards the Southern Cross, on the winds of continuous progress, on the broken line separating the heavens from the earth.
The flag is prescribed with 2:3 propositions. For adequate visibility from distance, it is recommended to use a flag in 1.20 m x 1.80 m size, hoisted on a pole of 6 m in height.
A ceremonial flag is prescribed in 0.90 m x 1.40 m size, that is, with the same proportions as the national flag. hen used, the ceremonial flag shall be carried by a distinguished citizen of Las Breñas appointed by the municipal authorities.
The blue sky with the Southern Cross and the swallow was already featured in the municipal coat of arms, prescribed by Municipal Resolution No. 504 of 21 November 1979. The coat of arms was selected in a public contest prescribed by Municipal Resolution No. 503 of 15 November 1979.
Ivan Sache, 08 Jan 2014
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