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Londrina, Paraná (Brazil)

image by Ivan Sache, 5 February 2022

About the Flag

About the Flag

The municipality of Londrina (580,870 inhabitants in 2021, therefore Paraná's second most populated municipality and Region South's 5th most populated municipality; 165,257 ha) is located 400 km north-west of Curitiba. The municipality is composed of the districts of Londrina (seat), Espírito Santo, Guaravera (est. 11 November 1955), Irerê (est. by State Law No. 790 promulgated on 14 November 1951), Lerroville (est. by State Law No. 4,783 promulgated on 29 November 1963), Maravilha (est. by State Law No. 6,914 promulgated on 2 September 1977), Paiquerê (est. by State Law No. 4,992 promulgated on 21 December 1964), São Luiz (est. 11 November 1955) and Warta (est. by State Law No. 4,992 promulgated on 21 December 1964).

Londrina was established on 21 August 1929 by Engineer Alexandre Razgulaeff, as Três Bocas, the outpost of the gigantic project of colonization of North Paraná.
In the early 20th century, colonization of the very fertile "terras roxas" of North Paraná failed because of the lack of incentive by the weak Brazilian state. In 1922 the government of the state of Paraná decided to allocate its own funds to the building of schools and roads, leaving the much more expensive colonization projects to private companies. Invited by the Brazilian government, the Montagu mission, headed by Lord Lovat in 1924, acquired a lot of plots to develop cotton cultivation, with the support of the Brazil Plantations Syndicate seated in London. The project failed because of low market prices and the limited availability of healthy seeds. The investors changed their plans and founded Paraná Plantations, a company aimed at colonizing North Paraná.
The Brazilian subsidiary, Companhia de Terras Norte do Paraná, sold plots to smallholders, whoever they were. This wise policy prevented conflicts between old inhabitants of the area and newcomers, which occurred in several other colonization schemes. Claiming to promote "the most notable colonization plan Brazil ever saw", the company shared small plots among smallholders, performing an agrarian reform without state intervention. This policy boosted concentration of production, namely of coffee, demographic increase, establishment of urban nuclei and the appearance of a rural middle class. The company relied on large-scale propaganda, free transport for colonists, technical assistance to farmers and precise land survey.

The municipality of Londrina (Little London) was established by State Decree Law No. 2,519 promulgated on 3 December 1934, and inaugurated on 10 December 1934. In the 1950s, due to the coffee boom, Londrina's population increased from 20,000 to 75,000 inhabitants. In the late 1970, the town had 230,000 inhabitants.

https://www.prefeituradelondrina.org/
Municipal website

The flag of Londrina, which was designed by Guilherme de Almeida, is composed of a red rectangle charged with four silver stars arranged in a cross pattern.
Cherry red represents the soil and its fertility, and symbolizes enthusiasm, courage and fighting spirit.
The stars recall the Southern Cross constellation, the four continents of origin of pioneers, and represent inspiration, path and guidance. Equidistant, the stars symbolize spread in all directions and dimensions, open arms to the four cardinal directions, and balance.

https://portal.londrina.pr.gov.br/simbolos-municipais
Municipal website

image by Ivan Sache, 5 February 2022

The flag is used either with silver or white stars.

Photos
https://blog.londrina.pr.gov.br/?p=14203
https://blog.londrina.pr.gov.br/?p=107552
https://www.facebook.com/prefeituradelondrina/photos/4522219647823571
https://www.cml.pr.gov.br/cml/site/noticiadetalha.xhtml;jsessionid=6F9C2990A7B39B956E91B5350393CE38?origem=0&idnoticia=2469

Ivan Sache, 5 February 2022