The flag of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, officially adopted on October 24, 1995, portrays an eagle, symbol in the coat of arms of the House of Habsburg, to which Emperor Charles V belonged. This is because Buenos Aires was first founded (1536) during his ruling as king of Spain, and founded again (1580) under the reign of his son Philip II.
As a symbol of Spanish colonialism, this flag has generated controversy among advocates of democracy and republicanism. Councilman Adrián Camps from left-wing party Proyecto Sur (led by Representative to the Argentine National Congress Fernando Solanas) proposes repealing the 1995 city law that adopted this flag as the official flag of the Buenos Aires city and proclaiming a law choosing a new flag that better reflects the cosmopolitan, democratic and tolerant spirit of the city using participative methods.
Famous quotes containing the words flag of, flag, autonomous and/or city:
“Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.”
—Stephen Crane (1871–1900)
“—Here, the flag snaps in the glare and silence
Of the unbroken ice. I stand here,
The dogs bark, my beard is black, and I stare
At the North Pole. . .
And now what? Why, go back.
Turn as I please, my step is to the south.”
—Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
“The modern world needs people with a complex identity who are intellectually autonomous and prepared to cope with uncertainty; who are able to tolerate ambiguity and not be driven by fear into a rigid, single-solution approach to problems, who are rational, foresightful and who look for facts; who can draw inferences and can control their behavior in the light of foreseen consequences, who are altruistic and enjoy doing for others, and who understand social forces and trends.”
—Robert Havighurst (20th century)
“The screech and mechanical uproar of the big city turns the citified head, fills citified ears—as the song of birds, wind in the trees, animal cries, or as the voices and songs of his loved ones once filled his heart. He is sidewalk- happy.”
—Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959)