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Los Ángeles commune (Chile)

Last modified: 2006-09-30 by antónio martins
Keywords: los ángeles | rojas (santiago patricio castro) | ox | eagles: 8 | eagle (white) | coat of arms: bordure | crown: mural (golden) | lightning flash | ox (red) | waves: 2 | waves: 3 | waves: 6 |
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Los Ángeles flag
image by António Martins, 05 Dec 2002
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About the flag

At http://www.losangeles.cl/comunidad/historia/bandera.htm it is said that the flag was created by 16 year old Santiago Patricio Castro Rojas, winner of a design competition held in April 1975. The flag was approved the following month by communal decree of Mayor Mario Ríos Santander. (The flag designer died suddenly at the age of 20; the flag he created is visible on his tombstone.) The flag is spanish style triband of green, white, and green, though the text at http://www.losangeles.cl/comunidad/historia/bandera.htm doesn’t specify precisely the relative width of the middle stripe — it’s just «wider» («más ancha») than the others. The ratio is not mentioned, but the image on line is roughly 2:3. The coat of arms is set on the middle of the white stripe, its height slightly larger than 1/3rd of the flag’s height.
António Martins, 05 Dec 2002

Coat of arms detail

Los Ángeles arms
image by António Martins, 05 Dec 2002

Arms: Argent, an ox gules between two bars wavy azure, each charged with two barrulets wavy argent, in chief three lightning flashes gules crossed, one in fess and two per saltire; the whole within a border azure charged with eight eagles displayed argent. (The birds could also be called eaglets, since they’re so small.)
Mike Oettle, 06 Dec 2002

The meaning of these arms is as follows:

  • the ox stands for the boldness of the ancient settlers of Laja island
  • the wavy bars stand for the rivers Biobío and Laja, which flow near by
  • the lightning flashes stand for the local hydroelectrical plants, and
  • the eagle bordure stands for the spanish and later chilean garrisons at the Biobío Line, once the southern border of Chile.
António Martins, 05 Dec 2002 (quoting from http://www.losangeles.cl/comunidad/historia/bandera.htm)

Anything below this line was not added by the editor of this page.