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Subdivisions of Santiago del Estero Province (Argentina)

Last modified: 2016-12-20 by francisco gregoric
Keywords: santiago del estero | ciudad frías | sun (half) | cogwheel (half) | handshake | la banda | sumampa |
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Subdivisions of Santiago del Estero Province (About) : See also:

About Santiago del Estero Province subdivisions

The Province of Santiago del Estero is administratively divided in 27 departments. Inside the departments there are municipalities of three kinds: 1a. Clase (First Class), 2a. Clase (Second Class) and 3a. Clase (Third Class).
Francisco Gregoric, 1 Nov 2014


Aguirre Department

Pinto Municipality

[Pinto Municipality flag]
image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 Oct 2007

The Municipality of Pinto is in Department of Aguirre, Province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. now as a flag.

Valentin Poposki, 25 May 2007

The text on the municipal website says that the Decree creating the flag and modifying the official coat of arms of the town was approved by the Municipal Council in its extraordinary session "during the last weeks". All the Councillors, from either the Unión Vecinal or the Partido Justicialista, approved the flag.

The new flag recalls by its colours the national flag (white and blue) and the local feeling (red and black), as well as the sun.

On 20 September 1890, a railway station, unusually big for the time, was inaugurated on land granted by the former Governor of the Province of Santiago del Estero Don Luis Generoso Pinto. This event is considered as the foundation day of the town of Pinto that grew later around the station and has now 4,100 inhabitants.
Ivan Sache, 02 Jun 2007

It is a ~4:7 unequally quartered flag with square hoist areas, red over black at the hoist and while over light blue on the hoist; on the crossing point a yellow sun, its diameter slightly smaller than half the flag’s height.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 28 Oct 2007


Banda Department

La Banda Municipality

[La Banda Municipality flag]
by Ivan Sache, 29 Sep 2012

The municipality of La Banda (95,178 inhabitants in 2001, therefore the second most populous municipality in the province) is located 10 km of Santiago del Estero, on the left bank of river Dulce.

La Banda emerged in the late 19th century as a agricultural colony located close to the San Carlos estate. The appearance of the railway in 1890 boosted the development of the settlement through immigration and export of products; La Banda counted more than 6,000 inhabitants around 1900.

The first autonomous local government, the three-member "Municipal Commission for La Banda Station", was named and tasked by the Provincial Law of 4 January 1892. The "Municipal Commission of La Banda Village" was organized by Provincial Decree No. 55 of 23 January 1905.

La Banda was granted the rank of "ciudad" by the Provincial Assembly on 16 September 1912. The municipality of La Banda was formally established on 3 January 1920. Provincial Law No. 907 of 5 August 1925 granted La Banda a locally elected Municipal Council, but elections were delayed for years by the provincial government. The first elected Municipal Council was eventually inaugurated on 7 July 1929.

The flag and arms of La Banda were approved by the Municipal Council on 14 September 2012.

The flag is horizontally divided celeste blue-white-red with the greater municipal arms in the middle. Celeste blue and white come form the national flag, while red comes form the provincial flag.

The coat of arms is:

    "Quarterly, 1. Vert a cotton boll proper, 2. Or a locomotive proper, 3. Azure an inkpot and quill proper, 4. Gules a guitar and a drum argent, a bordure argent inscribed in letters sable 'La Banda / Trabajo - Libertad - Progresso [Work - Liberty - Progress]'. The shield surmounted by a rising sun or and surrounded by two branches of orange tree leaved vert and flowered argent."
The adoption of the symbols was not unanimous. The majority at the Municipal Council ("Movimiento Viable") considered that "there was no reason to delay the adoption process of the symbols", while the opposition group ("Frente Civico") called for a public vote. The opponents, upset by this "scandalous session", left the room. They claim that the proposals were imposed by Mayor Héctor Ruiz, who presented them as their own, while it is known that they were designed years ago by the former Municipal Councillor Carlos Ruiz.
Ivan Sache, 29 Sep 2012

Other sites:

Choya Department

Ciudad de Frías Municipality

[Ciudad Frías flag]
by António Martins, 10 Dec 2004

It is a red over green horizontal bicolor with an emblem over all composed of a “demi” sun (with nine visible flame-like rays), yellow, and a “demi” cogwheel (with six visible “teeth”), white (or grey), set as a disc of diam. approx. half the flag’s height with a pair of shaking hands, of caucasian complexion, over all — as in the national emblem.
António Martins, 10 Dec 2004

Other sites:

Quebrachos Department

Sumampa Municipality

[Sumampa Municipality flag]
by Ivan Sache, 01 Jul 2012

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 "Círculo Criollo Martín 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 "Martín Miguel de Güemes" and the Technical College No. 9 "Gob. Ing. César 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

Other sites:

Río Hondo Department

Las Termas de Río Hondo Municipality

The municipality of Las Termas de de Río Hondo (locally known as Las Termas; 32,166 inhabitants in 2010, the second most populated municipality in the province) is located in the west of the Province of Santiago del Estero, on the border with the Province of Tucumán, 70 km of Santiago del Estero city. The town, proclaimed a "ciudad" on 6 September 1954 and a municipality in 1958, is the capital of the Department of Río Hondo.

The thermal waters of Las Termas was already known to the Tonocote natives as "yacu rupa" (miraculous warm water); the Inca priests renamed them "inti yacu" (water of the sun) and kept the place secrete to organize official ceremonies. The water is exploited today in more than 150 hotels, each with its own water well or source, which makes of Las Termas de Río Hondo the main spa town in Argentina. The water is recommended to regulate blood pressure and to heal rheumatism. The reservoir of Río Hondo (330 sq. km) was inaugurated in 1965 in the valley of river Dulce. It is jointly managed by the Provinces of Tucumán (32% of the area) and Santiago del Estero (68%). The Frontal Dam, of 40 m in height and 2,368 m in length. is now a main tourist's spot.

The motorsport circuit of Termas de Río Hondo, inaugurated in 2007, was rebuilt in 2012. It hosted the Argentine motorcycle Grand Prix in 2014 (winners: MotoGP, Marc Márquez; Moto2, Esteve Rabat; Moto3, Romano Fenati) and 2015 (winners: MotoGP, Valentino Rossi; Moto2, Johann Zarco; Moto3, Danny Kent).

The Municipal Council of Las Termas has initiated on 10 September 2015 the process of creation of a municipal flag. The initiative was pushed by Julio Máximo Gómez Machado, who convinced the Municipal Council of the need of a symbol representing all the inhabitants of the town. Gómez Machado proposed a flag based on the provincial flag, charged in the middle with the town's emblem. To emphasize the significance of Francisco Solano* and of the river, waves were added at the bottom of the flag. The proposal has yet to be officially adopted by the Municipal Council.

At least one copy of the flag in the cloth was produced, made of the provincial flag with the waves at the bottom - but lacking the municipal coat of arms. I also miss the connection with Francisco Solano (aka Francis Solanus; 1549-1610, canonized on 27 December 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII), a Franciscan monk who preached the Gospel for decades in the region.


Ivan Sache, 04 Oct 2015

Other sites:

Taboada Department

Añatuya Municipality

[Anatuya Municipality flag]
by Ivan Sache, 06 May 2011

The municipality of Añatuya (20,261 inhabitants in 2001) is the capital of the General Taboada Department, located in the east of the Santiago del Estero Province.

The Añatuya Diocese was created on 10 April 1961 by Pope John XXIII and approved by the Argentine government on 18 September 1961 (Decree- Law No. 8328).

Añatuya might soon adopt a flag. During the session of the Municipal Council held on 14 April 2011, the Officialist group of councillors tabled a proposal of Decree prescribing the creation of a flag and arms for the town. The proposal was written by Ramón Vargas, who recalled that the first Organic Chart of the municipality, issued in 1994, provisioned for the adoption of municipal symbols by the Municipal Council; the provision was dropped in 2007 from the revised Organic Chart, which in no way can prevent the Municipal Council to adopt the symbols.

The (proposed) coat of arms, symbolizing the municipal autonomy, is made of a shield in "Norman style", following the national and provincial traditions, whose upper angles spiral to the center of the shield. It is divided into two quarters, the quarter in chief sky blue representing the national colors and the other quarter sea blue representing the clothing of the railways workers, the railway being at the origin of the municipal territory. The center of the shield is white [therefore, the shield is horizontally divided sky blue-white- sea blue], symbolizing intelligence and purity, charged with a federal, eight-pointed star made of eight lozenges issuant from the center, expressing the Argentinean federalism and of bright red color. The star is outlined in white and black; together with red, these colors symbolize the ceramics of the native cultures in their diverse components: Mercedes, Sunchitúyoj and Averías. The star is charged with the traditional representation of a skunk, elegant and proud, in Aroldo Suárez' Inca lines, of Indo-American golden color. The lower quarter is sea blue, the color of the clothing of the railways workers, crossed by a river made of a wavy line argent, representing river Salado (cachi mayu) supplying life, wealth and fertility. The outer ornaments are made, on the right, of branch of cotton with bolls and, on the left, of a branch of flowering alfalfa, forming an open crown vert and tied up under the shield by a bright red ribbon with a golden fringe representing autonomy. On the scroll, three original Inca inscriptions, "AMA SUA, AMA LLULLA, AMA QUEYA" (Neither thief nor liar, not lazy either).

The (proposed) flag is shown as based on the Argentinean national flag, in the middle a white rectangle outlined in yellow and black and charged with the star and skunk from the coat of arms. On the right of the rectangle, a broad sea blue panel separated from the sky blue stripes by thin white stripes.

Ivan Sache, 06 May 2011


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