Salta province (Argentina)

Last modified: 2002-09-28 by antonio martins
Keywords: sun: 12 rays | star: 6 points (white) | star: 6 points (silver) | star: 6 points (yellow) | stars: 24 | salta | contest | poncho | hexagram | department | tartan | variation |
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• Description of the flag
• Variations of the flag
• Provincial emblem

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• New flag page, at the official provincial website (claiming the flag is «new» since at least June 1998!)
• Jaume Ollé’s page about Salta flags

The new flag of Salta was adopted by the Provincial Government, after successful completion of a design contest called by Education Ministry resolution no. 1820. Acording to the jury in charge of evaluate the over four thousand proposals presented to the contest, the elected design embodies the symbolic elements more often used in those proposals: the provincial coat of arms, the saltese poncho [kind of a blanket, used as an overcoat] and a [cardinal] simbolization of the departments.

Acording to the technical information [provided by] the jury, the field of the flag is made up of the color[s] of the saltese poncho: layed in fess [a fancy way to say "horizontally"]: two fesses sable on gules. The "honour piece" [centered, not in "honour place"...] is the coat of arms of the Province of Salta, with its azure field and the six pointed star, without the external ornaments [meaning crown, crest, tenants etc.]. The star is considered to be a spur argent charged with a sun or. The shield itself is outlined or, to separate the two tinctures (azure and gules).

translated by António Martins, 2 Jun 1998, from http://www.iruya.com/bandera.htm

This text has no mention to the 24 hexagrams around the (elliptical) shield, standing for the 24 departments of the province.
António Martins, 02 Jun 1998

Indeed, they are 24 departments. The stars are called spurs, even though that they are in fact spurwheels.
Luis Havas, 28 Sep 1999

This flag color (dark-burgundy-red,) resemble the tonality of the ponchos, used by the local gauchos during the war of indpendence 1810-1823. Much have been said about the oirgin and reason of the color: The gauchos were lead by a Martin Güemes, which many venture to say that his name is from Wymess from nearby Dundee, County of Fife, Scotland, and the color of the poncho, is derived from the tartan from the Wymes / McDuff clan. However archeaologist from Salta, theorize that ancient aboriginal cultures from the Calchaqui region of Salta, used this type of dark red already since it was made from local roots.
Gustav Tracchia, 27 Mar 2000

as depicted in the law

as depicted in the official website

Provincial emblem as of 1900