The Corrientes coat of arms was declared official by the first Constituent Congress of the province in 1821. Its elements refer to the founding of the province and its natural resources.
The province of Corrientes, whose capital has the same name, is part of the Argentine Republic. In fact, it was one of fourteen regions that participated in the founding of the country. It is located in the northeast, bordering Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay.
This shield replaced the one created by Juan de Torres de Vera y Aragón, founder of the city of Corrientes, which was based on the coat of arms of his family. In this first shield there were two towers with an eagle resting its legs on them.
History
After being established as a province in 1814, Corrientes became the first in the Argentine Republic to draft its own constitution.
In this constitution, the creation of its distinctive symbols was established: the flag and the shield. The latter is based on the symbols of the country's flag, apart from some of its own features, such as the burning cross.
The miracle cross
This cross surrounded by flames but not burning, is born from the story made by Captain Juan Francisco de Aguirre in 1588.
In that year, after the founding of the city, the Indians attacked a town. However, the arrows they launched turned in the air against themselves.
The attackers discovered that it was a cross, raised by the Spanish and made of urunday, which caused this event. They tried to burn it, but the cross withstood the effect of the fire without suffering any damage.
Subsequent modifications
After the Constituent Congress approved the shield, several modifications were made.
The final coat of arms was made between 1822 and 1825, but subsequently underwent several changes until, in 1921, the government issued a decree that definitively established the elements that compose it.
Meaning
Each part of the shield hides a different meaning: both the interiors, the oval shape itself and the exterior elements.
As for the elements located within the oval, the cross stands out, an embodiment of faith and reminiscent of the miracle that occurred in 1588. For their part, the hands that clasp symbolize reconciliation and unity.
Also appears, on a wooden pike (symbol of success in their struggle for independence), a Phrygian cap that represents the same freedom achieved.
The seven strips of gold-colored land, which appear on both sides of the cross, are the headlands of the Paraná River.
These form seven fast currents right in the place where the homonymous capital of the province was founded.
The two colors that we can contemplate, the blue of the upper part and the white of the lower part, are those of the Argentine flag.
For its part, the ellipse that surrounds all these symbols resembles a human head adorned by a laurel wreath, representing victory.
The rising sun that crowns the shield alludes to the creation of the new nation, Argentina, also appearing on the flag and in the national anthem
References
- Government of Corrientes. Coat of Arms of the Province of Corrientes (August 22, 2013). Obtained from currents.gov.ar
- Statistics and Census Directorate. Official Symbols of the Province. Obtained from deyc-corrientes.gov.ar
- Argentine heraldry. Province of Corrientes. (2009). Obtained from heraldicaargentina.com.ar
- Coat of Arms of Argentina. Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Retrieved from en.academic.ru
- Municipality of Corrientes. Patriotic symbols. Obtained from ciudaddecorrientes.gov.ar