Brazilian State Series: Epilogue

For almost two months, I dedicated my posts for analyze and modify the Brazilian state flags. From the 26 states and a Federal District, I presented suggestion to nine of them. This frame below is representing the progress: the flags in red rectangles are the modified flags, while the other are current flags I decided to maintain. I also commented a São Paulo proposal, but it's not my idea.

(Suggestion: click on image to see it in real size)

For comparative purposes, see the current flags set. Click here to see all flags on series.

Probably, in future, I'll present other Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte proposals (they're too complex), and something about Espírito Santo and Paraíba flags, but not for while.

I can sometimes, in future, present proposals to other Brazilian entities but not states. By now, I want to present proposals to other places around world. Actually, I worked on the back burner on some flags during this two months, and still have some works older than this blog (despite some of them aren't good sufficient to be published, I think).

I want to know: which is your favorite between all proposals?
I thank all comments and views during these series, they make blogging important to me.

Amazonas (Brazil)

And now, the last flag for Brazilian states series (for a while): Amazonas!

Let's see the current Amazonas flag:

What're the problems with Amazonas flag? First of all, a terrible star arrangement of star. Second, a very unoriginal design — it's obvious the influence of American flag.

At first, I reasonably tried to rearrange the star layout, maintaining the basic idea: 25 stars, representing the 25 cities in state at 1897, one of them, bigger, represents Manaus, the state capital. I decided to use three rows of stars, and the result was this:

The layout was less exotic, but easiest to be reproduced. OK, the stars rearrangement is done, it still seems like the USA flag (probably, more than never). So I decided to choice more meaningful colors, as the current ones wouldn't be missed.

There's an old state flag that used blue and white:

So I made two versions of my proposal, using blue, white and green (this last color symbolizing the state's natural richness). The results are:




The first proposal is highly based in current design, while the second shows better the star. It's personal like, but I prefer the first.

As soon as possible I'll post a epilogue of the Brazil series. Wait!
Comment, follow, share... here and in my new blog. Now I'm presenting my new blog, Flag Review. Visit it!

Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)

Today I'm talk about my proposals to Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. I choiced to present this two together because I made the same kind of intervention in the two flags.

Let me start showing you the current Paraná Flag:

Being true, it's not a horrible flag, but, I don't know why, people use to complain about this flag. (There's a curious true story about a deputy that proposed to drop the tobacco branch for apologize smoking habit). What I dislike more in the flag is the "PARANÁ" writing and the length of stripes. I know there's a lot of similar proposals, but mine is this:

The stripes was rearranged, and Souther Cross gained its traditional layot. For me, it's good: simple, original and remarkable.

My second proposal, as I said above, is to Rio Grande do Sul. That's current flag:

The coat of arms is terrible (four flags on the exact same flag?), but it's other subject. This flag is incredibly popular in the state; it was the Farroupilha Republic flag with the Farroupilha (current state, too) coat of arms at center. Differently of Juliana Republic, as I said in an older post, the Farroupilha symbols are very respected in the state (I once heard that children learn Farroupilha anthem in school), so I decided to keep the original design, without the coat of arms, but resizing the stripes. The result is that:

I think it's a little disrespect to state pro-autonomist tradition put a star on it, so I keep it without.

It's the penultimate post in Brazil serie, and I'm promising a good surprise to Amazonas post, the last of all.
Please, support the blog: read, comment, follow.

Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil)

The today's flag is from Rio de Janeiro state (don't confuse with Rio de Janeiro city, nicknamed by tourist as "Rio"). The flag is this:

It's not a bad coat of arms, I have to admit, but it's against the "simplify" commandment. Other question is that, when the state flag and arms were created, the Rio city was the Federal District, so it's more likely a Rio de Janeiro "countryside" flag. My fist proposal was something like simplification of it:

Sorry the lack of symmetry, a new eagle image would improve it. The scarlet is from Rio de Janeiro city flag. I don't know exactly why I put the star in green, but it's good this way. The quartered blue and white is a must, not just because it's a good basis to the flag, but too because it was used in state flag since 1889, at least, but a previous version was used in Empire times.The seal from coat of arms has no meaning known by me, and I couldn't find any early use (it's a strange case of "seal on arms"), but it's a good element.

My two next proposal are more ambitious. These are the results:

Nº 1: Sea blue in sky blue.

Nº 2: Sky blue in sea blue.

Any of them would be a great flag, though. The first proposal is more traditional, but maybe the second would be better in sunlight. That's all!

What do you feel about my proposals? Comment.
With this, I count 24 Brazilian state flag. Now, it's lasting only three.

Santa Catarina (Brazil)

Oh, it's going to be a long post! Let me starting showing the current state flag:

The basic design isn't bad, but something in this coat of arms, like the star wearing a Phrygian cap, or the red lace, makes me a bit disgusted about the flag. This current flag is based in a older, and cooler, flag:

It's a cool flag, but with a old-school style. There's seventeen stripes (the number of juridical districts when the flag was created) and twenty-four stars (the number of municipalities in that moment). There's no symbolic reason to adopt that numbers, and a update would be impossible: currently, the state counts 293 municipalities and a minimum of 182 juridical districts. I'm sorry, but no way.

There's another flag that was used in that territory, the flag of the República Juliana (Juliana Republic?), a short-lived republic with inspiration in Farroupilha Republic (in their current neighbor state Rio Grande do Sul). The flag is simple, beutiful and, supposedly, original.

But, unlike the Farroupilha Republic, that's almost more popular in Rio Grande do Sul than the national flag, I never knew about a Juliana flag in Santa Catarina, and 95% of state people probably never listened about its existence.

As I can't see the Juliana flag as official state flag in near future, I mixed the two flags to create my proposal. It's this:

I remained with the Juliana colors: green, yellow and white; I can't see any problem wth it. But I didn't drop the green diamond, said to represent St. Catherine (the patron saint of state). The central star is there, representing the state star in flag. The Southern Cross was a way of putting the red in flag, and remembers this is the second Brazilian state nearest to South Pole.

Happy Easter to everybody!

Comment rhis post, please!

Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil)

The Rio Grande do Norte flag hasn't the ugliest flag in Brazil. Let's take a look at it:

There's a coat of arms on it, but it was a very good one, created by Luís da Câmara Cascudo, maybe the biggest Brazilian folklorist, and excellent  historian and anthropologist. The green means hope and white, peace. Being honest, it isn't exactly the more immediate flag to change.

Just now I repared that it carry a jangada, that I used in my Ceará flag; maybe it would need a re-fix.
I have tried, more or less, twenty versions of same design, but I'm not totally satisfied with the outcome. This is it:

Let explain it: the blue is for Atlantic Ocean, the diagonal stripe is the coast and the mangroves (the inclination resembles the state coast line), the green is for Atlantic Forest, principally in the south of state (what justifies a second time the inclination), the other white stripe is for agreste, a typically Brazilian vegetation, and the orange has two meanings: the first is to represent the semi-arid climate in state country, the second is to make reference to state gentilic, potiguar (in Tupi language, "shrimp-eater"). The star in flag is Shaula (Lambda Scorpii), the state star in Brazilian flag. The green and white remained, but now as secondary element.

It's not a terrible flag, but the uncommon layout makes me fall in doubt. The colors combination, for me, is good... with a little more inspiration, it would be excellent.

Did you like the flag? What would you change? Comment!
I'm working in some unpublished contents, I hope I'll publish as soon it's over.