Quebrachos Department, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina (original) (raw)

The 3rd-rank municipality of Sumampa (4,812 inhabitants in 2001), located 240 km south of Santiago del Estero, is the capital of the Quebrachos Department.

The sanctuary dedicated to the Sumampa Virgin of the Consolation is the only building in the Province dating back to the colonial period. It is today one of the main Marian pilgrimage places in Argentina. Accordingly, it was proclaimed a Provincial Historical Monument by Decree No. 11 of 11 July 1972 and a National Historical Monument by Decree-Law No. 1180 of 12 November 1973.

The flag of Sumampa was first unveiled on 20 June 2012 during the ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the death of General Manuel Belgrano, the designer of the national flag and including the oath and loyalty promise to the national flag. The ceremony took place in the Provincial School no. 982. Later on, the authorities moved to Sumampa Viejo (Old Sumampa) and offered a copy of the flag to the "C�rculo Criollo Mart�n Fierro" local circle.

The unveiling of the flag was originally scheduled to 18-19 November 2011, during the celebration of the 78th anniversary of the foundation of the town. The act must have been postponed.

The flag of Sumampa was officially hoisted in the Hall of the Municipal Council of Sumampa (date not given). The project of adopting a municipal flag, originally prescribed by in Decree No. 82, adopted in 1996, was revived. A contest was organized,; involving the local educational institutes, which were asked to consider the natural, cultural, social and historical features of the region when designing proposals. The final design was based on the proposals submitted by the Provincial School No. 982, the Kindergarten No. 130 "Mis Pollitos", the Commerce School "Mart�n Miguel de G�emes" and the Technical College No. 9 "Gob. Ing. C�sar Eusebio Iturre". Forwarded to the Municipal Council, the final proposal was unanimously adopted in 2011 by Ordinance No. 278.

The flag of Sumampa is horizontally divided light blue-median green by a thick red serrated line. The upper; blue field, is charged with a yellow Argentine / Inca sun, while the lower, green part, is charged left with a quebracho flower and right with a local petroglyph portraying a goat.

The red zigzag represents the local topography, here the Sumampa Mountains, a snake' move in aerial view, and integration of different social actors on the same geographical territory. Blue represents the Argentine feeling and the sky as it appears most of the days over Sumampa.
Red represents federalism and the red granitic rocks of the Sumampa Mountains, as well as the color of rocky art made by the native peoples. Median green represents the quality of the environment, the profusion of natural resources, the nice micro-climate of the Sumampa Mountains and the geographical framework where all the sociocultural and productive activities take place.

The Inca Sun represents God's clarity and religious diversity, the feeling of belonging to the Inca territory and the lowlands that form the territory of the Santiago del Estero Province;

The quebracho flower ("paajpuca") represents the native tree emblematic of the mountains, for which the department was named. The goat ("huasancho") is the central element of the petroglyphs found on the Piedra Pinta (lit., Painted Stone) site.
Ivan Sache, 01 Jul 2012