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Pato Bragado, Paraná (Brazil)

Last modified: 2022-03-05 by ian macdonald
Keywords: parana | pato bragado |
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About the Flag

The municipality of Pato Bragado (5,610 inhabitants in 2019; 13,528 ha) is located on the border with Argentina, here Lake Itaipu, 600 km west of Curitiba.

The flag and arms of Pato Bragado are prescribed by Municipal Law No. 36 promulgated on 3 June 1993.

Article 6.
The flag of the municipality of Pato Bragado, designed by heraldist and vexillologist Reynaldo Valascki, shall be divided into three parts, thus consisting of a central white (argent) stripe and two isosceles triangles in celestial blue color (azure), one on the top of the rectangle on the right side and the other on the top, left side, charged in the left with a yellow (or) star.

§1. In accordance with the tradition of Portuguese heraldry, from which we inherited the canons and rules, the municipal flags can be divided in eight, six, four or three parts, having the same colors as those used in the shield's field and bearing the town's coat of arms in the center. displaying in the center a geometric figure (white central stripe), where the coat of arms is applied.
§2. Description. The Flag of the municipality of Pato Bragado obeys this general rule, being divided by a central stripe that separates the isosceles triangles. The coat of arms applied to the flag represents the municipal government.
§3. Symbols. The celestial blue color of the first triangle represents the town proper, as the seat of the municipality; celestial blue (azure) symbolizes the rich cloak of Our Lady covering the entire territorial area of ​​the municipality.
In heraldry triangles are symbols of liberty, equality and fraternity, according to the precepts of the French Revolution; they were used as the emblem of Inconfidentes Mineiros.
The second celestial blue (azure) triangle symbolizes the waters of Latin America's largest lake, Lake Itaipú, which generate electricity in the world's largest hydroelectric plant.
The white (argent) stripe at the center of the rectangle symbolizes peace, friendship, work, purity, and prosperity; it also represents the irradiation of municipal power to all quarters of the territory.
The yellow (or) star applied to the top of the rectangle symbolizes the resources existing within the Municipality and represents beautiful Porto Britânia, a tourist attraction in the municipality.

Article 7.
In accordance with heraldic rules, the municipal flag shall have the official dimensions prescribed for the national flag, 14 units in width on 20 units in length.

Article 19.
The coat of arms of the municipality of Pato Bragado, designed by heraldist and vexillologist Reynaldo Valascki, is described in proper terms as follows.
A Portuguese classical shield, surmounted by a yellow (or) mural crown of eight towers, only five of them visible in perspective view, with ports gules (red).
In the shield's top center an escutcheon charged with a red (gules) cross, as the universal symbol of Christian faith, thus representing the faith and the religious spirit of the people of the municipality of Pato Bragado. Five irregular quarters with the following descriptions.
In the first, left quarter a rainforest, below a cotton plantation.
In the second, right quarter, a classroom with a map of the state of Paraná, a terrestrial globe, a book, an inkwell and a pen representing education and culture in the municipality.
Below the two quarters, two sinuous lines that symbolize rivers Paraná, São Francisco, Rio Branco, Arroio Fundo and many others that irrigate the fertile soils of the municipality's territory.
In the third, lower left quarter a large agricultural area with a tractor and a settler preparing the land for wide cultivation of various crops such as soybean, wheat, cotton.
On the quarter's right beautiful green meadows and an ox and a pig symbolizing the rich livestock that exists in the municipality.
Below the quarters in a triangle, a boat that represents the name of the municipality, drawn inside an abyss. The boat named "Pato Bragado" was designed after photo No. 25, registered in the archive of the Willy Barth Historical Museum of the municipality of Toledo, 29 July 1984.
The "Pato Bragado", originating from the Argentine Province of Nunes, was used for river transport across the Paraná in the 1955s. The drawing pictures it moored at Porto Britânia, embarking wood, yerba mate and other stuff.
Right in the center of the lake is featured a tawny duck ["pato bragado"]. In the Dictionary of Portuguese Language the word "bragado" is said of an animal or bird whose legs have a different color from the rest of the body, which has meshes, or all black with orange, spotted or tawny whites.
The shield is supported on its right hand (dexter) by soybean and wheat plants fructed, on its left (sinister) by cassava branches and a maize stalk, these plants being the main source of income for the municipality.
Beneath the coat of arms, a beautiful view of Lake Itaipu bordered by a large area of ​​land and Porto Britânia, which is one of the tourist attractions in the town.
The two gears drawn on the sides represent the business park located on the municipal territory.
The red (gules) scroll features the toponym "Pato Bragado", surrounded left by numbers "18-06-1990", the day, month and year of creation of the municipality, and right by numbers "01-01-1993", the day, month and year of inauguration of the municipality of Pato Bragado

The coat of arms has the following symbolic interpretations:
a) The classic Portuguese coat of arms used to represent the arms of Pato Bragado, [...] during the struggle against the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, came to appear in Portugal's armorials, notably in domains' heraldry, this being the style inherited in [Brazilian] heraldry, as evocative of the colonizing race and the main builder of the nationality.
b) The mural crown that surmounts it is the universal symbol of domains' coats of arms; yellow (or) with eight towers, only five of them visible in perspective view, it classifies a 3rd rank town, that is, the seat of a municipality. The windows gules (red), due to the meaning of the color, are consistent with the attributes of pioneers and community leaders.
c) Blue (azure) is a symbol of justice, perseverance, zeal, loyalty, recreation and beauty; it represents the beautiful and picturesque landscapes of Lake Itaipú.
d) Green (vert) symbolizes hope, the beautiful forests and meadows of all parts of the town. Green (vert) represents all the agricultural areas of the fertile lands of the municipality.
e) The soybean, wheat, cassava and maize fructed plants recall the main crops obtained from the general and fertile land, therefore the municipality's main sources of income.
f) Gules (red) is the symbolic color of dedication, self-love, audacity, intrepidity, courage and bravery. [Redundant description of the scroll skipped.]

The municipality of Pato Bragado owes its original name to a flatboat of the same name, which, back in 1949, transported yerba mate and wood from Porto Britânia, a port located on the banks of the Paraná in the municipality of Pato Bragado, on a river that was flooded by Lake Itaipú.
This boat was owned by João Figueredo, who was its captain on trips he made from Pousada (Argentina) to Porto Britânia. The ship also brought a shipment of hardware for workers, wheat flour, olive oil and other products for domestic consumption, which were purchased in exchange for yerba mate, various woods and heart-of-palm in large quantities, as the region was the largest producer of this product, currently in extinction, only being preserved in the area of ​​the National Park by the Forestry Police, its cutting being prohibited.
The place where Porto Britânia is located was known as Kilometer 01.
In the 1950s, there was a great drought, which lowered the waters of the Paraná, so that the "Pato Bragado" boat was stranded for a long time; it was at this time that João Figueredo gave the name of the boat to the town of Pato Bragado.
João Figueredo worked with his vessel for a great merchant named Nunes; he supplied the workers of Porto Britânia and also came once a month to Porto Britânia to monitor the work, check goods and make payment to the employees. "Pato Bragado" was the largest vessel that traveled from Pousada to Porto Britânia.
These data were obtained from the first pioneers Mr. Wille, "The Fisherman", Pr. Garcia, Mr. Sandalio Prates Santander, husband of Mrs. Ramona Benites, who was a cousin of João Figueredo. Mrs. Ramona was the parent of Mrs. Francisca Prates Mareco, who was married to Mr. Gaspar Mareco, providing evidence that the Mareco couple was a pioneer in the locality of Rio Branco, now extinct, flooded by Lake Itaipú. Currently, the municipality of Pato Bragado has for its Secretary Alberto Mareco, son of pioneer Gaspar Mareco, a great collaborator in this research.

https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/pr/p/pato-bragado/lei-ordinaria/1993/4/36/lei-ordinaria-n-36-1993-dispoe-sobre-a-forma-e-apresentacao-dos-simbolos-do-municipio-de-pato-bragado
Leis Municipais database

Photo
https://www.opresente.com.br/municipios/pato-bragado-celebra-os-187-anos-da-independencia-do-brasil/

Ivan Sache, 6 February 2022