Last modified: 2014-11-11 by francisco gregoric
Keywords: misiones | provincia de misiones | apostoles | san josé | aristóbulo del valle | wanda | campo grande | cerro azul | san ignacio |
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The Province of Misiones is administratively divided in 17 departments. Inside the departments there are municipalities of three kinds: 1a. Categoría (First Class), 2a. Categoría (Second Class) and 3a. Categoría (Third Class). In total there are 75 municipalities in the province.
Francisco Gregoric, 21 Oct 2014
![[Apostoles municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-n-ap.gif)
The municipality of Apóstoles (42,457 inhabitants in 2010) is located In the southeastern corner of the Misiones Province, 70 km of Posadas.
Apóstoles originates in the establishment of the Natividad reduction in August 1633 by the Jesuit fathers Diego de Alfaro and Pedro Alvarez. Originally located in today's Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), the reduction was threatened by raids organized by Portuguese colonists from Saõ Paulo. In 1637, Father Superior Antonio Ruiz ordered the exodus of the reductions towards safer place, first southwards and
eventually westwards. Natividad was relocated close to the San Francisco Javier reduction - today, San Javier.
Following the advance of the colonists and the destruction in September 1839 of the reduction of Apóstoles de Caázapaguazú, Diego de Alfaro was appointed commander of the Guaraní troops and killed in a battle. Pedro Álvarez temporarily succeeded him as the leader of Natividad, until replaced by the Belgian father Nicolás del Techo (Nicolas du Toit), who renamed the reduction Principe de los Apóstoles
in 1641. The reduction was moved three years later between the San Javier and Santa María la Mayor reductions, and, much later, between the Concepción and Santa María la Mayor reductions.
In 1644, del Techo renamed the reduction Santos Apóstoles Pedro y Pablo (Sts. Apostles Peter and Paul), subsequently shortened to Apóstoles. The reduction was eventually relocated in 1652 on the site of the today's town of the same name.
As prescribed by the Royal Pragmatic Sanction signed on 27 February 1767 by King of Spain Charles III, the Jesuits were expelled from Apóstoles on 7 August 1768. Father Segismundo Spergger, deemed too old
and ill to travel, was allowed to stay in Apóstoles, being the only Jesuit father not expelled from the Spanish realms. Appointed as the new religious administrator of Apóstoles, the Mercedarian father José
Antonio Barrios failed to learn the Guaraní language; so did the civil administrator, Juan de Alegre, so that the organization and agricultural production of the reduction quickly declined
The exile of the Jesuits did not stop the colonist's threat. Andrés ("Andresito") Guaçurarí y Artigas, a mixed-race adoptive son of Gervasio Artigas probably born in 1778, was appointed in 1815 Commander General of the Missions. On 2 July 1818, Guaçurarí defeated in Apóstoles the troops led Franco das Chagas Santos, who had invaded and looted the region in January-March 1817. The Portuguese colonists
were repelled beyond river Uruguay. After the battle, some of the inhabitants of Apóstoles stayed there, while other moved westwards, founding Loreto (Corrientes), or southwards, founding Durazno (Uruguay). In 1830, the government of Corrientes sold Apóstoles, which became the crossroads of trails used by the yerba mate "mining" expeditions. In the 1860s, Father Gay reported that most inhabitants of Apóstoles worked as carters.
Apóstoles had 1,263 inhabitants according to the 1895 census. The same year, the engineer Juan Queirel was commissioned to draft the plan of the future colony of Apóstoles. A first group of 60 European
immigrants, mostly Poles and Ukrainians, arrived in the colony on 27 August 1897. The railway built by the Clark Brothers company appeared in the colony in 1909.
The municipality of Apóstoles was officially established on 28 November 1913, succeeding the Municipal Council formed in 1908. The National Yerba Mate Festival was prescribed in the town in 1961 by Provincial Law No. 82. in 1981, a National Decree made of Apóstoles the permanent host of the National Yerba Mate Festival and the Yerba Maté National Capital.
The symbols of Apóstoles (coat of arms, flag, song, day of refoundation, day of establishment of the first Municipal Council, day of onomastics and of the town) are prescribed in Article 5 ("Municipal
symbols") of the Organic Charter of Apóstoles, promulgated on 17 December 2010.
The tortuous description of the flag is copied, word for word, from the official description of the flag of the Misiones Province, green replacing blue as the middle colour. Accordingly, the flag is
horizontally divided red-green-white.
The municipal website explains that the flag of Apóstoles dates back to the Federal League of Free Peoples (Banda Oriental - today, Uruguay -, Entre Ríos, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Corrientes and Misiones), governed by José Gervasio Artigas. The League used the blue-red-white flag - today used by the Misiones Province, while each of the constituting provinces used its own flag. Andrés Guaçurarí, governor of the Misiones Province, designed the green-red-white flag for the province. At the time, red meant Federalism and the blood shed in the struggle for freedom, green represented the dense forests, and white stood for liberty and peace.
The flag used today in Apóstoles has a different meaning: red represents the coloured land, a place of work and an ethnical melting pot; green represents yerba mate and the healthy and ecological
environment; and white represents hope, tolerance, dignity and life.
Ivan Sache, 30 Sep 2012
![[San Jose municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-n-sj.gif)
The municipality of San José (4,599 inhabitants in 2001; 417 sq. km)is located in the south of the Misiones Province.
San José is named for the Jesuit reduction of San José. The historian Pablo Pastells writes that the reduction was founded in 1633 in the Serranía del Tapé, threatened by the Portuguese pioneers ("bandeirantes") from Brazil, and relocated in 1638 on the eastern bank of river Paraná. Félix de Azara writes that the reduction was relocated in 1660 to its eventual location, northeast of the sources of brook Pindapoy in the Tabiapú mountains.
The exact location of the reduction between 1638 and 1660 is unknown. Written sources relate that General Artigas crossed the Paraná at San José Pass, "the port of the disappeared reduction of San José, once the port of Anunciación and Santa Cruz de Itapúa, on the left bank of Paraná". It can be guessed that the reduction of San José de Itacuatiá was located from 1638 to 1660 on the site of the suppressed reduction of Anunciación de Nuestra Sra. de Itapúa, the today's site of Posadas, the capital of the Misiones Province.
San José was re-settled in 1891 by the land surveyor Juan Queirel; the San José colony was officially established by Decree of 14 August 1892.
The flag of San José is vertically divided white-green. At the bottom is placed a yellow five-rayed rising sun ensigned with a brown Jesuit cross surrounded by two hands.
The flag, selected among six proposals in a public contest organized by the municipality, was presented on 30 November 2010 (Misiones Flag Day).
According to the flag's designer, Maria Haidee Gallardo, white represents simplicity, green represents vegetation. The hands are a symbol of friendship, the rising sun is a symbol of energy, and the Jesuit cross represents the origin of the town.
Ivan Sache, 03 Jan 2014
![[Aristobulo del Valle municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-n-av.gif)
The municipality of Aristóbulo del Valle (20,683 inhabitants in 2001; 53,000 ha) is located in the center of Misiones Province, 140 km from Posadas.
Aristóbulo del Valle originates in the establishment of a colony on 14 June 1921. The municipality of Aristóbulo del Valle was established on 15 October 1957. The municipality is named for the lawyer and politician Aristóbulo del Valle (1845-1896). Professor of Constitutional Law at the Buenos Aires University and one of the most famous orators of his time, Del Valle was Deputy (1870), Senator (1876; President of the Senate, 1880) and Minister.
The flag of Aristóbulo del Valle is prescribed by Ordinance No. 25/2000. Selected in a public contest organized by School No. 422, the flag was unveiled on 3 October 2005.
The flag is divided green-light blue by a sinuous, narrow red stripe descending from the upper hoist to the lower fly and charged with white discs.
Green represents the exuberant vegetation in the municipality and acknowledged the action of our Ecologist Group to protect the environment, which is the base of the present and future development.
Blue represents the abundant watercourses that water the municipal territory and form several rapids and waterfalls, therefore the nickname of the town, "The Paradise of Rapids and Waterfalls". This is
due to the geographical location of the municipality, at the foot of the Sierra Central, which forms the watershed of that part of the Misiones Province.
Red represents the colour of the soil and the motifs of the native's handcraft, acknowledging the native roots of the inhabitants. The stripe also represents Provincial Road No. 7, which links us to the town of Jardín América, and the dedication of the flag to our cherished hometown.
Ivan Sache, 31 Dec 2013
![[Campo Grande municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-n-cg.gif)
The municipality of Campo Grande (5,293 inhabitants in 2001; 482 sq.
km) is the capital (and one of the three municipalities) of Cainguás
Department (53,403 inh. in 2010; 1,608 sq. km)t, located in the center
of Misiones Province.
The flag of Campo Grande was selected in a public contest organized by
the municipal administration. Among 50 proposals, the jury selected
the design submitted by the teacher Nancy Rolón. The flag was unveiled
on 20 June 2013 (Argentine Flag Day).
The flag is horizontally divided celeste blue ("the colour of the sky
and water), white (representing liberty and purity, as well as the
white overall", recalling that Campo Grande is the place of the
Teacher's Festival), and green (representing the natural environment
as well as the tea and yerba mate plantations).
The emblem in the middle of the flag includes a map of the
municipality ("brown, the colour of our soil") crossed by a celeste
blue line representing Road No. 8, and, at the bottom, by coloured
stripes recalling the native's traditional fabrics, coloured Olympic
rings as a tribute to sportsmen, human silhouettes, a sun and leaves.
Ivan Sache, 15 Sep 2013
![[Wanda municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-n-wa.gif)
The municipality of Wanda (11,279 inhabitants in 2001; 481 sq. km) is located in northern Misiones Province, 40 km south of Puerto Iguazú. Colonia Wanda was founded in 1936 by immigrants mostly of Polish origin. A local legend claims that the town was named for a Polish princess who was fond of the gems extracted from the local mines, located 2 km from the downtown - but discovered only in 1976!. Anyway, the purple amethysts from Wanda are of international fame.
The flag of Wanda is vertically divided blue-green. In the middle is placed a purple crystal charged with a yellow-orange church standing on a yellow-orange base.
The flag was unveiled on 10 December 2013, during the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the return of Argentina to democracy.
Ivan Sache, 03 Jan 2014
The municipality of Cerro Azul (5,323 inhabitants in 2001; 256 sq. km) is located in the south of the Misiones Province.
Cerro Azul was established by Decree no. 28,185 of 14 September 1933. The name of the new settlement was chosen by its early inhabitants, who mostly came from the Cerro Pelado region (today, the town of Cerro Largo) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
The flag of Cerro Azul is horizontally divided salmon pink-green-salmon pink. On the green stripe is placed a round emblem, vertically divided dark green-brown and charged all over with a blue letter "A";
the emblem and the letter are outlined in white.
The flag was selected among 36 proposals submitted to a public contest. The winning flag was designed by Alejandro Nahuel Chevaga, Sara Milagros Maksynzuk, Ismael Andres Fedorisch, Catriel Alejandro Medina, Daniela Beatriz Schworer and Francisco Ariel Schworer, alumni at School No. 139, Colonia Taranco Chico. The flag was presented on 14 September 2012, during the celebration of the 79th anniversary of the establishment of the town.
The flag represents the geographical and economical reality of the town.
Salmon pink represents the peaches produced in Cerro Azul, the first producer of that fruit in Argentina.
Green is the symbol of plant industry, which provides income to several inhabitants of the municipality.
The circular emblem means that the municipality is in constant progress in all domains.
The blue ("azul") letter "A", shaped like a hill ("cerro"), recalls both the topography and the name of the town. The background of the emblem reflects the fertility of the soil.
Ivan Sache, 06 Jan 2014
![[San Ignacio municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-n-si.gif)
The municipality of San Ignacio is located in the south of the Misiones Province, close to the border with Paraguay, here river Paraná, 65 km north of Posadas.
San Ignacio is named for the Jesuit Reduction of San Ignacio Miní, founded around 1610 by fathers José Cataldino and Simón Masseta on the left bank of river Paranápanema, and named for the founder of the Society of Jesuit, St. Ignatius of Loyola. The reduction was one of the 12 settlements forming the Guairá mission; from 1627-1632, the Portuguese pioneers ("bandeirantes") suppressed 10 out of the 12
settlements, leaving only Loreto and San Ignacio Miní. Totally isolated and without any possible assistance, the 13,000 inhabitants of the two remaining reductions moved in 1631 southwards, where they
established a new reduction on the banks of river Yabebirí. They moved again in 1669 to San Ignacio's present location. The new reduction was built of stone, instead of timberwood used in the older reductions.
The ruins of San Ignacio Miní were registered as a Provincial Historical Monument by Law No. 510, adopted in 1969 and as a National Historical Monument by Decree No. 2210, adopted in 1983. The ruins of
five Jesuit reductions of the Guaranis, including San Ignacio Miní, were inscribed in 1984 on the UNESCO World Heritage List: "The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis are the archeological remains of towns created by the Jesuit Order. The towns existed between 1609 and 1818, and aimed to socially, culturally and religiously elevate the local Guarani Indians. They also provided protection and economic stability. Originally there were 30 missions, spread out over Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.
All these Guarani reducciones (settlements) are laid out on the same model: the church, the residence of the Fathers, and the regularly spaced houses of the Indians are laid out around a large square.
However, each of the reducciones is characterized by a specific layout and a different state of conservation.
San Ignacio Miní, founded in 1611, was moved on two successive occasions, settling in its present site in 1696. It incorporates important monumental remains: churches, residence of the Fathers, schools. The ruins are accessible and in a relatively good state of preservation. It is the most eminent example of a reduccion preserved on Argentinean territory."
The modern settlement of San Ignacio was established on 25 September 1877 after the plant drafted by the land surveyor Queirel. The new town was settled on 18 January 1907 by Marcelino Boix, Pablo Allain,
Pablo Martín, Adolfo Lanusse and the Palacios brothers.
The flag of San Ignacio is horizontally divided green-red. In the middle is placed the black and white monogram of the Society of Jesus, surrounded by a yellow-orange sun.
The flag was designed by pupils from the 1"C" class of Escuela Normal Superior No. 5 "Fray Mamerto Esquiú", under the guidance of Gastón Martín Emanuel Barrios (History teacher), María del Carmen Chauveaux (Director) and Mirta Ramirez (Deputy Director).
Red (CMYK 6-99-95-0) represents the red soil of San Ignacio, classified as an oxisoil (laterite).
Green (CMYK 87-30-95-2) represents the forest, the flora and the yerba mate plantations.
The emblem in the middle means that the sun protected the Company of Jesus and that San Ignacio has been shining since its establishment by the Jesuits and will progress day after day.
Ivan Sache, 31 Dec 2013
Anything below this line was not added by the editor of this page.