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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
