The municipality of Villa Dolores (31,193 inhabitants) is located in the west of the Cordoba Province, on the border with the San Luis Province, 190 km of the provincial capital.
The municipality was founded on 21 April 1853. The founding Decree prescribed the new settlement to be founded on the northern bank of the Willows' River. However, the settlement was moved on the southern
bank of the river, where the environment would be more suitable, by a Decree signed on 4 January 1854. The new settlement was inaugurated on 27 January 1856 and named Villa Dolores for the Our Lady of Sorrows [Dolores] chapel already built there.
The Poets' International Meeting "Oscar Guiñazú Álvarez" has been celebrated in Villa Dolores in October every year since 1962. Born in Candelaria in the neighboring San Luis Province, Guiñazú (1916-1996) studied and then worked in Villa Dolores, where he organized the first Poets' Meeting in 1962, made an international event in 1968.
The flag of Villa Dolores is prescribed by Decree No. 1,948, adopted on 7 July 2008 by the Municipal Council, as follows:
[...]
Article 2.
The official flag of Villa Dolores is adopted, described as follows:
"Flag made of three horizontal stripes; the upper stripe, of blue color, covers 31% of the flag's area; in the middle, a white stripe covers 34% of the flag's area; and in the lower part, a red stripe
covers the remaining 35% of the flag's area. In the middle of the flag is placed an emblem including two mounts with a sun rising in between, and, at their foot , a farmer and a feather shaping a path climbing the mountain.
Its shape is rectangular, with the following dimensions: its length is 50% larger than its fly, and its rationale is as following:
Blue represents a view to the sky invoking protection by the heavens and by the Virgin of Sorrows, projecting a vision, therefore a bright future for all the neighbors of God's hand.
White reflects purity and transparency that should characterize the government and citizens' acts.
Red symbolizes strength and progressivist dynamics of a town with concrete proposals for its inhabitants.
In the middle, the mountains recalls that Villa Dolores belongs to the Traslasierra Valley, which, due to its natural scenery, is one of the most attractive tourist spots of the country. The rising sun, favoring work, enlightens life in the valley.
The feather represents a deserved tribute to all the poets who have gathered year after year in the Poets' International Meeting, signaling a path that goes beyond the limits of our mountains.
The farmer symbolizes the most important activity of our region, like potato cultivation, which made Villa Dolores recognized as the "National Capital of Potato".
The drawing and the rationale are integral part of the Decree.
[...]"
The flag, selected in a public contest prescribed by Decree No. 1,927, was designed by the young Marcos Ezequiel Bartolomei, from Villa Dolores. It was inaugurated on 9 July 2008 during the celebration of Independence Day. The flag was blessed by priest José Guillermo Gómez during a solemn Te Deum, and then hoisted on a brand new flag mast erected near the mast bearing the national flag.
![[Villa Dolores municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-x-vd.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 21 Oct 2011
