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Formosa do Oeste, Paraná (Brazil)

image by Ivan Sache, 2 February 2022

About the Flag
Variant Flag

About the Flag

The municipality of Formosa do Oeste (7,541 inhabitants in 2010; 27,571 ha) is located 580 km west of Curitiba.

Formosa do Oeste was established on 3 March 1960 by Sociedade Imobiliária Noroeste do Paraná Ltda (SINOP), a company based in Maringá, in a vast territory known as Gleba Rio Verde. The day of the celebration of the first mass by Father Sebaldo Brukel is the town's official day of foundation.
The planning of the new town was designed by Enio Pepino, who argued that local soil was among Brazil's most fertile arable land, to be compared with Ukraine; Pepino pushed a model of development involving smallholder's estates rather than big properties.
The town's name was coined by Mrs. Nilza de Oliveira Pipino; when visiting the place, she was amazed by the dense forest and fertile soil, naming it "a beauty" ("formosura"). "do Oeste" refers to the location of the place in Western ("Oeste") Paraná.
The municipality of Formosa do Oeste was established by State Law No. 4,382 promulgated on 10 June 1961, separating from Cascavel, and inaugurated on 8 December 1961.

https://formosadooeste.pr.gov.br/
Municipal website

The flag and arms of Formosa do Oeste are prescribed by Municipal Law (number and date of promulgation not available).

Article 6.
The flag of Formosa do Oeste, designed by heraldist and vexillologist Lauro Ribeiro Escobar, is described as follows: Rectangular, blue with a white cross, the arms' intersection concealed by a white lozenge charged with the coat of arms prescribed in Article 19.
The cross' arms are 3 units in width, the median of the vertical arm being located 7 units from the hoist. The lozenge is 12 units in width and the coat of arms 7 units in width.

Article 7.
In compliance 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 Formosa do Oeste, designed by heraldist and vexillologist Lauro Ribeiro Escobar, is described as follows: Iberian shield lozengy azure and argent a pallet argent charged with a Greek cross gules orled with 12 acorns or fimbriated vert. The shield surmounted by a mural crown with eight towers argent and ports gules, and supported dexter by a coffee branch and sinister by a cotton plant in base soybean plants all leaved and fructed proper. Beneath the shield a scroll azure inscribed argent with the toponym "Formosa do Oeste" between dates "8-12" dexter and "1961" sinister.
The coat of arms has the following interpretation.

a) The Iberian shield was used in Portugal at the time of the discovery of Brazil; its adoption evokes the early colonists and builders of the nation.
b) The lozengy field has for heraldic meaning the praise of memorable facts and actions; it also represents plot delimitation in the region by Sociedade Imobiliária Noroeste do Paraná (SINOP), at the origin of the municipality and the starting point of the region's unstoppable progress.
c) Azure (blue) is the heraldic symbol of beauty ["formosura"] and sweetness, also of justice, nobleness, dignity, glory, virtue, incorruptible firmness, zeal and loyalty; argent is also an emblem of beauty, and also of felicity, temperance, truth, frankness, integrity and friendship. The two colors allude to the toponym "FORMOSA", to which "DO OESTE" was subsequently added, making the arms canting. They are also a tribute to the administrators and citizens and their loyal relations that contribute to the municipality's swift progress.
d) The pallet is a first order charge; the Greek cross (with arms of equal length) gules with 12 acorns is a charge from the arms of the Bulhão family, recalling Fernando Martins Bulhão, who abandoned glory to dedicate himself to the service of God, being subsequently known as St. Anthony of Lisbon, the municipality's patron saint.
e) The mural crown is a symbol of political emancipation. Argent with eight towers, only four of them visible, it classifies the seat of a country. The gates proclaim hospitality offered by Formosa do Oeste's people; gules (red) indicates in Brazil law and order, meaning "Justice is exerted between these gates".
f) Coffee, cotton and soybean allude to the fertility of Formosa do Oeste's generous soil, being important crops and main sources of income for the municipality.
g) On the scroll, the toponym identifies the municipality, while the date represents the day, month and year of inauguration of the municipality.

https://formosadooeste.pr.gov.br/uploads/pagina/arquivos/formosa-historia-geral_.pdf
Municipal website

Photo
https://www.facebook.com/Prefeitura-Municipal-de-Formosa-do-Oeste-Pr-692731431164427/photos/1071754073262159

Ivan Sache, 2 February 2022

Variant Flag

image by Ivan Sache, 2 February 2022

The flag is also used with the cross broader and centered, and the lozenge longer than wide.

Photo
https://www.facebook.com/Prefeitura-Municipal-de-Formosa-do-Oeste-Pr-692731431164427/photos/708890196215217

Ivan Sache, 2 February 2022