Flag of Cuba
The national flag of Cuba (Bandera de Cuba) consists of five alternating stripes (three blue and two white) and a red equilateral triangle at the hoist, within which is a white five-pointed star. It was designed in 1849 and officially adopted May 20, 1902. The flag is referred to as the Estrella Solitaria, or the Lone Star flag. It is in the stars and stripes flag family.
Fighting against the Spanish Crown with the rebel armies of Venezuela, Narciso López moved from his native Caracas to Havana, Cuba. His involvement in anti-colonial movements forced him into exile. In 1849, he moved to New York City, United States, where he continued to advocate for an independent Cuba.
The three blue stripes represent the three departments in which Cuba was divided at that time; the white, purity of the patriot cause; and the red triangle, a symbol of strength, constancy, and Mason influences (triangles are Masonic symbols for equality and were found in a number of other flags in the former Spanish empire).
The poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón designed the flag alongside López, based upon the story of López's vision. Emilia Teurbe Tolón, Miguel's wife, sewed the first flag. López and Tolón, together with José Aniceto Iznaga Borrell, his nephew José María Sánchez Iznaga, Cirilo Villaverde and Juan Manuel Macías, settled upon the final design for the flag of Cuba: two white stripes, three blue, a red triangle, and a lone star.
López used this same flag in 1850 to carry out his coup attempt to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule, which resulted in failure. The coastal town of Cárdenas was the first town that saw the lone star flag hoisted on May 19, 1850, in the taking of the city by Cuban rebels.
A year after the start of the Ten Years' War, the first Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Cuba met arms in Guáimaro, Camagüey Province. The debate focused on two flags of great symbolism, the Demajagua – which was very similar to the Chilean flag – created by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes to give start to the war of independence, and the Lone Star of López, the latter being chosen since López had taken the first step for the freedom of Cuba. The Demajagua flag was not scrapped, but instead, was put in the sessions of the House of Representatives and retained as part of the national treasure.
On the morning of May 20, 1902, the day Cuba officially became an independent republic, Generalissimo Máximo Gómez had the honor of hoisting the flag on the flagpole of the castles of the Tres Reyes del Morro, Havana; therefore sealing with this act the end of the Cuban revolution, the end of struggle for Cuban independence, and at the same time justifying the sacrifice that so many offered to make this dream become reality.
Both the flag and the coat of arms were designed by Miguel Teurbe Tolón. The design of both specifications were established by decree of the first president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, on April 21, 1906. The flag has remained unchanged since then, even during and after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which established the present-day communist state of the Republic of Cuba.
In 2019 Cuba introduced the controversial "National Symbols Bill", which according to official press releases "would establish more flexible use of these items with a view toward promoting their greater presence in society, within a legally defined, respectful framework". Among the tenets that came with the bill was that the flag could be used "as a means of publicity only when the messages would contribute to the promotion and development of patriotic values in people and form a patriotic awareness of respect and veneration for them and the historical tradition of the nation".
In August 2019 independent artists launched the "#LaBanderaEsDeTodos" campaign after repressive measures taken in response by the Cuban government, including the arrest of artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. The artists, members of the San Isidro Movement, published a manifesto in which they advocated freer usage of Cuban national symbols, asking the public for assistance in opposing the Cuban government's attempts to restrict usage of the flag.
Fighting against the Spanish Crown with the rebel armies of Venezuela, Narciso López moved from his native Caracas to Havana, Cuba. His involvement in anti-colonial movements forced him into exile. In 1849, he moved to New York City, United States, where he continued to advocate for an independent Cuba.
The three blue stripes represent the three departments in which Cuba was divided at that time; the white, purity of the patriot cause; and the red triangle, a symbol of strength, constancy, and Mason influences (triangles are Masonic symbols for equality and were found in a number of other flags in the former Spanish empire).
The poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón designed the flag alongside López, based upon the story of López's vision. Emilia Teurbe Tolón, Miguel's wife, sewed the first flag. López and Tolón, together with José Aniceto Iznaga Borrell, his nephew José María Sánchez Iznaga, Cirilo Villaverde and Juan Manuel Macías, settled upon the final design for the flag of Cuba: two white stripes, three blue, a red triangle, and a lone star.
López used this same flag in 1850 to carry out his coup attempt to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule, which resulted in failure. The coastal town of Cárdenas was the first town that saw the lone star flag hoisted on May 19, 1850, in the taking of the city by Cuban rebels.
A year after the start of the Ten Years' War, the first Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Cuba met arms in Guáimaro, Camagüey Province. The debate focused on two flags of great symbolism, the Demajagua – which was very similar to the Chilean flag – created by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes to give start to the war of independence, and the Lone Star of López, the latter being chosen since López had taken the first step for the freedom of Cuba. The Demajagua flag was not scrapped, but instead, was put in the sessions of the House of Representatives and retained as part of the national treasure.
On the morning of May 20, 1902, the day Cuba officially became an independent republic, Generalissimo Máximo Gómez had the honor of hoisting the flag on the flagpole of the castles of the Tres Reyes del Morro, Havana; therefore sealing with this act the end of the Cuban revolution, the end of struggle for Cuban independence, and at the same time justifying the sacrifice that so many offered to make this dream become reality.
Both the flag and the coat of arms were designed by Miguel Teurbe Tolón. The design of both specifications were established by decree of the first president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, on April 21, 1906. The flag has remained unchanged since then, even during and after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which established the present-day communist state of the Republic of Cuba.
In 2019 Cuba introduced the controversial "National Symbols Bill", which according to official press releases "would establish more flexible use of these items with a view toward promoting their greater presence in society, within a legally defined, respectful framework". Among the tenets that came with the bill was that the flag could be used "as a means of publicity only when the messages would contribute to the promotion and development of patriotic values in people and form a patriotic awareness of respect and veneration for them and the historical tradition of the nation".
In August 2019 independent artists launched the "#LaBanderaEsDeTodos" campaign after repressive measures taken in response by the Cuban government, including the arrest of artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. The artists, members of the San Isidro Movement, published a manifesto in which they advocated freer usage of Cuban national symbols, asking the public for assistance in opposing the Cuban government's attempts to restrict usage of the flag.
National flag
Country - Cuba
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The territory that is now Cuba was inhabited by the Ciboney people from the 4th millennium BC with the Guanahatabey and Taíno peoples until Spanish colonization in the 15th century. From the 15th century, it was a colony of Spain, and slavery was abolished in 1886, remaining a Spanish colony until the Spanish–American War of 1898, when Cuba was occupied by the United States and gained independence in 1902. In 1940, Cuba implemented a new constitution, but mounting political unrest culminated in a coup in 1952 and the subsequent dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, which was later overthrown in January 1959 by the 26th of July Movement during the Cuban Revolution, which afterwards established communist rule under the leadership of Fidel Castro. The country was a point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, and a nuclear war nearly broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba faced a severe economic downturn in the 1990s, known as the Special Period. In 2008, Fidel Castro resigned after 49 years of leadership of Cuba and was replaced by his brother Raúl Castro.