Contagem, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

Last modified: 2002-10-26 by joe mcmillan
Keywords: minas gerais | contagem | brazil |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

by Joseph McMillan

• About the Flag
• Coat of Arms

• Index of Brazil Pages
• State of Minas Gerais
• Municipal Flags of Minas Gerais
• Brazilian Municipal Flags

About the Flag of Contagem

The flag is a white field with the emblem on the center.
Dov Gutterman, 30 May 1999

Coat of Arms

From www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Field/8825/contagem-i.htm:
(Law 499 of 23 May 1963)

The blue field recalls Portuguese tradition, our remote origins, the emblem of Vasco Fernandes Coutinho, to whose captaincy Contagem belonged. The name Contagem comes from the contagens tax, created by King Dom Joćo V. The periphery of the emblem represents the proximity of the 20th parallel; all the cities, countries, and states that are close to this parallel use this format. The 20th parallel crosses Barreiro, a municipal district of Belo Horizonte. The three gold cruzado coins represent Portuguese origin. The chimney represents industrial wealth and is characteristic of the local industry. The jabuticabeira tree represents our agricultural and pastoral wealth, the fruits of the soil and also the main tourist attraction of Contagem. In chief is a purple strip with seven stars. The stars' color represents the right to celebrate the feast of the Seven Sorrows [of the Virgin Mary], a special privilege given by Pope Pius VII to Contagem, one of the two cities in Brazil authorized to do so. The seven stars represent Our Lady's Seven Sorrows. On a golden scroll is the Latin motto Per populum omnis potestas a Deo, which is translated "All power comes from God for the people."