Flag of Puerto Rico

The flag of Puerto Rico represents the island and its people. It has five horizontal stripes that change from red to white. There is a blue triangle on the left side with a white star in the middle. The star stands for Puerto Rico itself, the triangle stands for the three branches of the government, the blue stands for the sky and ocean, the red stands for the courage of warriors, and the white stands for freedom, victory, and peace. People often call this flag the Monoestrellada, which means “Monostarred” or “One Star.”

The flag was first used in 1868 during a revolt against Spanish rule, called the Grito de Lares. This was the first time Puerto Ricans showed their wish to be a free and independent nation. In 1895, a new design was created that looked like the flag of Cuba, showing the strong friendship between Cuban and Puerto Rican people who both wanted independence from Spain. The flag was shown again in 1897 during another attempt to fight Spanish rule.

In 1952, the flag became the official flag of Puerto Rico when the island became a commonwealth, which means it is a self-governing territory linked to the United States. The colors are red, white, and blue, but the exact shade of blue has been debated. Some people use light blue to show support for independence, dark blue for wanting to become a U.S. state, and medium blue for the current status of Puerto Rico. No specific shade has been made official by law, so you might see the flag with different shades of blue. In a vote in 2001, the flag of Puerto Rico was ranked seventh out of 72 flags of U.S. and Canadian states and provinces.

History

First Spanish designs

Discovery

The flag of Puerto Rico first appeared in November 1493 when Christopher Columbus landed on the island’s western shores. He used a flag given to him by the Spanish Crown to claim the island for Spain, naming it San Juan Bautista. Columbus noted that his fleet carried the royal standard of the Crown of Castile, along with another flag featuring a green cross and the letters “F” and “Y” for Ferdinand II of Aragon and Ysabella I of Castille.

Colonization

In 1508, Conquistadores led by Juan Ponce de León, the first European explorer and governor of Puerto Rico, settled the island. They brought the royal standard of the Crown of Castile and the Cross of Burgundy, a military symbol of the Spanish Empire. These flags can still be seen today on old Spanish forts like Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo San Cristóbal.

First Puerto Rican design

Revolutionary and Antillean origins

In 1868, Puerto Rican independence leader Ramón Emeterio Betances asked Eduviges Beauchamp Sterling to create a flag for the Grito de Lares, an uprising against Spanish rule. The design was inspired by flags from the First Dominican Republic, Haiti, and France, as well as the Cuban flag.

The goal was to unite Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic in the Greater Antilles under one flag to protect their shared interests.

Authentic flag

Only one original Grito de Lares flag exists, confirmed by historical records. It has a white cross in the center, with red squares on one side and blue squares on the other, featuring a white five-pointed star in the blue section.

The flag was hidden on a coffee farm before being taken to museums in Madrid and later displayed in Toledo, Spain.

Last Spanish designs

Provincial

After Spain changed its government in 1873, a new flag was made for Puerto Rico. It looked like the quartered Lares flag but used Spanish colors: red squares with a yellow cross and the coat of arms of Puerto Rico in the center. This flag was used until 1898 when the U.S. took control of Puerto Rico.

Military

Spanish-Puerto Ricans also used the war flag of the 3rd Battalion of Puerto Rico, mainly fought in Cuba during the Cuban War of Independence. This flag had red and yellow stripes with the coat of arms of Spain and the words “PROVISIONAL BATTALION OF PUERTO RICO No. 3” on it.

Current Puerto Rican design

Cuban and Puerto Rican solidarity

In 1895, Puerto Rican revolutionaries in New York City joined with Cuban exiles to support independence. They fought together in Cuba, with many Puerto Ricans losing their lives.

Revolutionary adoption

On December 22, 1895, Puerto Rican and Cuban revolutionaries adopted a new flag for Puerto Rico. It was based on the Cuban flag but with the colors reversed: white stripes and a blue triangle instead of red, with a single white star in the center.

Disputed Puerto Rican designer

Historians disagree about who designed this flag. Some say it was Francisco Gonzalo Marín Shaw, while others believe it was Antonio Vélez Alvarado. There are also claims that Lola Rodríguez de Tió or Manuel Besosa may have been involved.

First waving

The new flag was first raised in Puerto Rico in May 1896 during a funeral for a leader of the Grito de Lares. It was later used in an unsuccessful revolt in Yauco in 1897 before Puerto Rico was taken over by the U.S. in 1898.

Outlawed display

After Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory, displaying the Puerto Rican flag in public was against the law until 1957. The U.S.-aligned government banned the flag to stop protests for independence.

Commonwealth adoption

In 1952, when Puerto Rico became a commonwealth, the government officially adopted the 1895 revolutionary flag as the island’s symbol. Some saw this as a way to weaken support for full independence. The flag was reaffirmed as Puerto Rico’s official flag in 1995.

Symbolism

First Puerto Rican design

Independence and Antillean confederation

Main article: Antillean Confederation

In 1868, a leader who wanted Puerto Rico to be free asked someone to make a special flag. This flag was used for a big but short fight against leaders from Spain. The design was based on flags from nearby places, hoping to bring together Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.

Colors

Main article: Grito de Lares flag

A poet said the white parts of the flag stood for wanting freedom, the red parts for the brave people who fought, and the white star for freedom itself.

Current Puerto Rican design

Cuban and Puerto Rican solidarity for independence

In 1895, Puerto Ricans living far away joined with Cubans who also wanted freedom. Together, they chose to use a changed version of the Cuban flag to show their shared fight for freedom from Spain.

The new flag had red and white stripes like the Cuban flag but turned around, with a blue triangle and a white star. Many important Puerto Ricans liked this flag and saw it as a sign of their hope for a free homeland.

Revolutionary colors

Some believe the blue triangle stands for the sky and ocean, the red stripes for brave people, the white stripes for peace, and the white star for the island of Puerto Rico.

Form of government and colors for the commonwealth

In 1995, leaders of Puerto Rico made rules about how to use the flag. They said the star stands for Puerto Rico, and the blue triangle stands for the three parts of their government: making laws, leading the country, and making sure laws are followed fairly.

The red stripes stand for the importance of these three parts of government, and the white stripes stand for freedom and fairness.

Pride

Korean War

The flag was carried by Puerto Rican soldiers during a big fight far away called the Korean War in 1952. They showed the flag as a sign of pride.

Space

In 2009, a Puerto Rican astronaut took the flag into space on a space shuttle. He gave copies of the flag to leaders back home as a reminder of where he came from.

Music

The flag inspired a popular song called "Qué Bonita Bandera" ("What a Beautiful Flag") in 1968. An astronaut even asked to hear this song while in space in 2009. A music group later made a new version of the song in 2012.

Protest

Nationalist attack at U.S. Capitol

The flag has also been used to show strong feelings at times. In 1954, people protesting for Puerto Rico’s freedom showed the flag during a loud protest in a big building in the United States.

Statue of Liberty for Vieques

In 2000, people protesting against a military activity on the island of Vieques placed a large Puerto Rican flag on the Statue of Liberty in New York City to make their point.

Dimensions

Law

The laws of Puerto Rico describe the flag's design. The flag is rectangular with five horizontal stripes—three red and two white. There is a blue triangle on one side with a white five-pointed star in the center.

Composition

The laws do not give exact sizes, but the most common way to make the flag is with a length-to-width ratio of 2:3. The flag has five stripes, each one-fifth of the flag's width, and a blue triangle covering the whole width on one side. The white star inside the triangle is usually between one-third and half of the flag's width in size.

Colors

Law

In Puerto Rico's laws, the flag is described as having five horizontal stripes that alternate between red and white. There is also a blue triangle on one side with a white five-pointed star in the middle.

Color schemes

The laws do not say exactly what shade of red, white, or blue to use, but there are a few common choices. The blue shade can change to match the red shade.

Current medium blue flag

The medium blue, or royal blue, flag used since 1995 has these color shades:

Dark blue flag

The dark blue, or navy blue, flag used since 1952 matches the colors of the original Lares flag and has these color shades:

Light blue flag

The light blue flag has become popular recently. Most pictures of the flag today use a light sky blue color, like the one kept in the Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico. This uses these color shades:

Blue shade

Original colors

In 1898, the first two descriptions of the design of the flag of Puerto Rico appeared in a memoir about the activities of the Puerto Rican committee arranged by the Cuban Revolutionary Party. Both mentions of the flag describe it as the Cuban flag with inverted colors, identifying its alternating stripes as “red” and “white,” triangle as “blue,” and lone star as “white.”

Dark blue

The only original flag of the Cry of Lares revolt authenticated by a written primary source is the one mentioned in a book written by José Pérez Moris in 1872. It features a dark blue shade.

Medium blue

One of the oldest known color depictions of the revolutionary flag of 1895, appearing on a postcard in circulation between 1910 and 1920, features a medium shade of blue.

Light blue

In the early 2000s, a selected group of Puerto Rican historians gathered at the Puerto Rican Athenaeum proclaimed light blue as the original shade of blue adopted by members of the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico in 1895.

Cuban blue

Some historians have added that the shade of blue originally adopted in 1895 was light to medium blue, as that was the contemporaneous shade of the stripes of the Cuban flag during the Cuban War of Independence.

Current status

In August 2022, an amendment bill was unsuccessfully introduced in the Puerto Rican Senate which would have established the current medium blue, identified in the legislation as “royal blue,” as the official color of the flag. To this day, the color shades of the flag of Puerto Rico have never been officially determined by law in Puerto Rico. Therefore, it is common to see the triangle of the flag with different color shades of blue.

Salute

Protocol

According to the law of Puerto Rico, when the flag is raised, lowered, or passed in a parade, everyone should stand and look at the flag until it is fully raised, lowered, or carried away. Men should remove their hats and place their right hand on their heart, while women should also place their right hand on their heart. Members of the armed forces should greet militarily.

The official salute to the flag should be said during important official or civic events, especially when the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States is recited, or when the Governor of Puerto Rico decides it should be done. The salute to Puerto Rico’s flag comes after the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag.

Text

The text of the official salute to the flag of Puerto Rico is as follows:

Protocol

The use of the flag of Puerto Rico is regulated by rules set on August 3, 1995. These rules explain how to properly show respect for the flag.

When the flag is shown outside, it needs a tall pole that is at least two and a half times the flag's height. The flag should not be raised before sunrise or after sunset, except on special occasions.

The flag should be raised near public buildings and schools on workdays and during holidays. It can also be raised at private homes if the owner wishes. When shown next to other country flags, all flags should be the same size and height. The Puerto Rico flag should always be to the left of the United States flag.

The flag should be raised quickly but respectfully, and it should be raised after the United States flag. When lowering, the process should be reversed. The flag should never be shown upside down unless in an emergency situation.

There are many other rules about how to display the flag properly, whether on vehicles, buildings, or in parades. The flag should always be treated with respect and should not be damaged or used in improper ways.

Historical flags

The historical progression of flags in Puerto Rico is shown here:

Municipal flags

Each of the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, including the islands of Culebra and Vieques, has its own flag. These flags show symbols that represent the area and its people, such as animals, birds, or crops. Many of these flags honor the island's original Taíno people who lived there long ago. For example, the flag of Utuado shows a Taino sun to remember Cacique Agüeybaná, known as The Great Sun. Other flags, like the one for San Germán, celebrate the island's history with symbols from Spain, such as a Spanish coat of arms.

Other flags

Black flag

Since 2016, an all-black version of the flag of Puerto Rico has stood for the idea of Puerto Rican independence, standing up for rights, and refusing to follow unfair rules. This flag began on July 4, 2016, when artists changed a well-known mural of the usual flag in Old San Juan to black and white. They did this because a new law called the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) had just been signed. Many people felt this law treated Puerto Rico unfairly.

The law created a group called the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico to help with money problems. However, many people did not like this because the group was not based in Puerto Rico and was not chosen by voters there. The black flag became a symbol of protest and standing up for what is right in Puerto Rico.

Olympics flag

At the Summer Olympics 1948, the Puerto Rican team used a white flag with the Great Seal of Puerto Rico in the middle and the words "PUERTO RICO" above it in red. The current flag of Puerto Rico became official during the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the team started using it right away. But because of a law from 1948 that banned showing the flag in Puerto Rico, the government kept using the Olympics flag until the law was changed in 1957.

Similar flag

In the 1950s, Puerto Rico asked Norway to stop a shipping company from using a flag that looks a lot like Puerto Rico's. The company said their flag had been used since 1903, before Puerto Rico's flag was official in 1952. Norway did not challenge this, so the company's flag is still in use today.