Last modified: 2005-11-19 by joe mcmillan
Keywords: sao paulo | brazil | barueri | saltire | coat of arms | cross: christ knights | fleur-de-lis (white) | cogwheel | cinquefoil (red) |
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by Joseph McMillan
The flag is divided per saltire, blue and yellow, with the four main charges of the coat of arms
on the four sections of the field: white fleur-de-lis at the top, red Cross of the Order of Christ
in the hoist, red cinquefoil in the fly, and white gear at the bottom. The coat of arms itself appears on a white
disk on the center. This coat of arms of Barueri was designed by Lauro Ribeiro Escobar and
officially adopted by law no. 112/73. It shows, on a blue field, a bar wavy
between in chief a gear between two fleurs-de-lis and in base two crossed 17th century cannons, all silver;
on a chief overall gold, a cross of the Order of Christ between two cinquefoils, all red.
The shield is ensigned with a mural crown of eight towers (five visible) silver, its gates open showing
red, and is flanked by a stalk of sugar cane and one of corn (maize).
The colors have the usual significance in Brazilian municipal heraldry.
The bar wavy represents the Rio Tietê, which passes through Barueri and along which the bandeirantes
navigated to explore the sertão and the interior. The gear is for industry. The fleurs-de-lis
represent Our Lady of the Stairs, patroness of the municipality, whose chapel was the
nucleus of the settlement. The silver cannons indicate the foundation of Barueri
by military contingents, as well as symbolizing strength of spirit. In the upper part of the shield, the
cross of the Order of Christ is the emblem under which the Portuguese explorers came to Brazil;
it also recalls the chapel erected by the Jesuits José de Anchieta and João de Almeida for the conversion of the
natives. The red cinquefoils are an allusion to the name of the municipality, which means
"red flower that enchants."
Joseph McMillan, 26 August 2002