Puerto Rico

Commonwealth of Puerto RicoEstado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico
Country	United States
Adopted	August 3, 1995
Designed by	Manuel Besosa (?)
Proportions	2:3
Emoji	🇵🇷

The flag of Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, consists of a blue equilateral triangle pile on the hoist of the flag, with a white five-pointed star in the center of the pile. Outside the pile are five horizontal stripes of equal height, alternating red and white from the top of the flag.

Symbolism

Red, white, and blue are the colors of the flag of the United States. The star represents the island of Puerto Rico, and the five-pointed star is also a symbol of the United States, which Puerto Rico is a territory of. The three sides of the triangle represent the three brances of the government of the United States. The red represents people who have fought for Puerto Rico's independence, and the white represents freedom and human rights. The design is the same as the flag of Cuba, but with the colors red and blue reversed.

History

Colonial flag of Puerto Rico

The first flag of Puerto Rico appeared at least in 1873, when the island was under Spanish rule. It was a red background with a yellow Saint George's Cross containing the coat of arms of Puerto Rico in its center.

Flag used from 1895 to 1952, with a light blue triangle

In the late 19th century, as pro-independence sentiment grew in the Caribbean islands under Spanish dominion, many activists in Cuba and Puerto Rico were exiled to the United States or elsewhere. In New York City, a flag was chosen in exile by the Puerto Rican section of the Cuban Revolutionary Party on December 22, 1895. The design was simply the Cuban flag with a reversal of the red and blue colors. In turn, the Cuban flag had been derived from the United States flag in its choice of colors, use of stripes, and emphasis on a white star against a distinctive colored background.

Flag used from 1952 to 1995, with a dark blue triangle

The original design used a sky blue tone of the triangle. But when the flag was adopted officially by the Commonwealth on July 24, 1952, it featured a dark blue very similar to that of the US flag. This fact has raised many issues whether to use a sky blue tone or a dark blue tone in the flag. Recently, with the celebration of the flag's 100th anniversary in 1995, the current administration displayed a flag with the original sky blue tone. Some historians concluded that the reason why a dark blue was used in the 1952 flag was related to the origins of the flag and its relationship with a revolutionary independence movement. Currently the shade of blue is a matter of political controversy: supporters of independence prefer the very light shade, while supporters of U.S. statehood prefer the darker shade of blue.

Soon after the Cuban Revolution, U.S. officials in the island became suspicious of those who displayed the flag, considering them subversives. Police used to arrest anyone displaying the flag on charges of insubordination against the United States.

Black and white flag

Black and white protest flag of Puerto Rico

Since 2016, an all-black rendition of the flag of Puerto Rico has been a symbol of Puerto Rican independence, resistance, and civil disobedience. The origin of the flag traces back to the early morning of July 4, 2016, when a group of female members of Artistas Solidarixs y en Resistencia (Artists in Solidarity and Resistance) repainted a popular and well-known mural of the original red, white, and light blue (presumed by historians) flag, on the door of 55 Calle San José in Old San Juan, with stark black and white to symbolize that the flag is in mourning over the passing of the law Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which had just been signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The Act established the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico to manage the island's chronic, crippling debt. The Board, infamously known by protesting Puerto Ricans as "La Junta" ("The Board"), has been heavily criticized by many as an act of blatant colonialism, as it claims to be at the service of the Puerto Rican people, but it is not based in Puerto Rico, and it is not electorally accountable to the voters of Puerto Rico. The black flag has become a common symbol of protest and defiance in Puerto Rico.

See also

• Municipalities of Puerto Rico

References

Featured Article	Puerto Rico
This page was featured on the VexiWiki main page on March 1-8, 2009.