![[Reconstructed, unconfirmed design of Winifreda municipal flag]](../images/a/ar-l-wi.gif)
Last modified: 2021-12-23 by rob raeside
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image by Ivan Sache, 17 jan 2015
The municipality of Winifreda (2,776 inhabitants in 2010; 17,000 ha)
is located in the north-east of La Pampa Province.
Winifreda was established on 3 April 1915 when the railway station of
the same name was inaugurated. The place was originally known as Luán
Lauquen (The Guanaco's Lake). It was renamed for one of the daughters
of José Norman Drysdale, who had inherited in 1893 he plots acquired
in 1886 by his father, the Scottish railway engineer John D. Drysdale
(1833-1893). The first settler (1905) was Jacobo Muller; the early
colonists were mostly Volga Germans, who were followed by a second
wave of Italian immigration.
The Municipal Council was inaugurated on 30 March 1923, while the Town
Hall was built in 1927.
The flag of Winifreda is identical, in its design and colours, to the
national flag, with the emblem of Winifreda in the middle.
Three municipal councillors of the Bloque Frepam and one of the PJ
(Partido Justicialista) approved the design. Celia Assel (PJ)
abstained, arguing that the Council should not adopt the flag without
consulting the citizens, and proposed to start a public contest
instead. Marta Bonkowski (Bloque Frepam) replied that the flag had
been proposed by the Centenary Commission - Winifreda will celebrate
its 100th anniversary on 3 March 2015 -, which includes
representatives of several local institutions. Assel further complains
that no image of the flag had been provided. The councillor Néstor
Soncini (PJ) rejected the proposal.
The coat of arms of Winifreda, designed by Juan Carlos Meyer, was
adopted in August 1986.
The emblem is made of an oval superimposed to a white map of La Pampa
outlined in yellow and charged with a sunflower seed, a characteristic
local crop, placed at the geographical location of Winifreda.
The upper half of the oval is blue with a yellow rising sun, symbolizing the
power of the town. A cart and a caldén (Prosopis
caldenia L., a tree endemic to the dry areas of Argentina) recall the
colonists and clearings, respectively.
The lower half of the oval features 23 furrows representing the 23
Argentinean provinces. The five ploughing disks represent the nations
of the immigrants who established the town, [further symbolized by the
letter "W"]. The wheat spikes surrounding the oval's lower part , tied
together beneath the shield with a cockade with the national colours,
represent the agricultural potential of the area.
Ivan Sache, 17 Jan 2015
