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Cabezas Rubias (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Last modified: 2016-12-20 by ivan sache
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[Flag]

Flag of Cabezas Rubias - Image from the Símbolos de Huelva website, 19 August 2016


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Presentation of Cabezas Rubias

The municipality of Cabezas Rubias (744 inhabitants in 2015; 10,865 ha) is located 70 km north of Huelva.
Cabezas Rubias was originally known as Ad Rubras or Ventas Rubias. According to the historian Moreno Alonso, the name of the place (lit. Golden Heads) refer to the colour of the neighbouring mountains, golden-reddish because of the iron-bearing soil.

Ivan Sache, 19 August 2016


Symbols of Cabezas Rubias

The flag (photo, photo) and arms of Cabezas Rubias, adopted on 22 November 1995 by the Municipal Council, are prescribed by Decree No. 201, adopted on 14 May 1996 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 18 July 1996 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 82, p. 8,258 (text). This was confirmed by a Resolution adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 11 x 18. Yellow panel quartered per saltire; 1. and 4. Blue, 2. and 3. Yellow. Charged in the center with the local coat of arms.
Coat of arms: Spanish shield. Azure a mount or charged with two sabres azure per saltire and ensigned by mill wings or. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.

The symbols were designed by Juan José Antequera.
The mounts represent the mountains surrounding the place.
The mill wings recall the three windmills (photo) that delimited the border between the County of Niebla and Portugal.
The swords recall the assault of the town by the Portuguese in 1644, during which 35 men were beheaded.
[Símbolos de Huelva website]

The Royal Academy of History previously rejected a proposed coat of arms, because several of its features were not compliant with the "good practice of heraldry". The first quarter could be accepted, provided it is represented in a more schematic and less picturesque manner. The stripes that reproduce the colours of flags are of inappropriate design and awkward result; accordingly, they should be removed. The bordure inscribed with a legend is also not compliant with good style. The Academy proposed to remove the unacceptable elements and to amend the arms as "Argent two mounts gules ensigned dexter with a windmill and sinister with a holly oak the two proper. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown."
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 1992, 189:3, 509]

The Academy rejected the resubmitted coat of arms, arguing that only some elements had been removed from the bordure. The description of the arms is inappropriate, being not presented in heraldic language; the attached drawing is a dark photocopy of a design, in which the allegedly removed elements are still shown. The accurate representation of a specific monument, here a windmill, is not acceptable. The presence of a legend in a quarter of the shield is not compliant with good style; moreover, the legend, including the supposed Latin name of the place, has no connection with the 17th century mace represented nearby. The name of the place should not be included in the bordure.
The Academy finally recommended to consult an expert in heraldry.
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 1993, 190:1, 151]

Ivan Sache, 19 August 2016