"The Grito de Lares flag was used on September 23, 1868 during the uprising in Puerto Rico against the Spanish government. It was designed by Dr. Ramon Emeterio Betances and embroidered by Mariana Bracetti. It was intended for the flag to become the flag of the Republic." [43]
"In 1895, Henna and Roberto Todd were both (along with José Martí and others) founding members of the Cuban Revolutionary Party and Club Borinqen in 1895 in New York. With these organizations, Henna was instrumental in creating what would eventually become the Puerto Rican flag. Here is his sketch of the design, from an 1896 letter to Ramón Emeterio Betances—on Henna’s professional stationary featuring his office address, 8 W. 40th Street." [44]
"The flag of Puerto Rico was designed in 1895 to promote the ideal of Puerto Rican independence from Spain. It consists of five alternate red and white horizontal stripes with a single white five-pointed star resting in a blue triangle. The three red strips symbolized the blood from the brave warriors, the two white stripes victory and peace after obtaining independence, blue the sky and sea and the white star is the island. The design is the same as the Cuban flag, but with the colors inverted. When Puerto Rico became an American territory, the Puerto Rican flag was outlawed until 1952. Then, in 1952 when Puerto Rico became a commonwealth, the flag was officially adopted, but it symbolism was altered to distance the flag from its history, along the blue, it was changed to a darker tone to make it similar to the American flag." [43]
Click on the words Pedro Albizu Campos highlighted in blue/gray for more information.
"In the mid-1900s, a new pro-independence coalition led by Pedro Albizu Campos adopted the red, white, and sky-blue flag as one of its unifying symbols. In an effort to crush the movement, Puerto Rico’s US-appointed legislature passed La Ley de la Mordaza, or the Gag Law, in 1948, which among many other restrictions made displaying the flag punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, by making the flag illegal, the government inadvertently positioned the flag in the popular imagination as a key symbol of Puerto Ricans’ fight for freedom." [45]
"The black-and-white “resistance flag” soon became the symbol of a powerful movement that recently helped toss Gov. Ricardo Rosselló out of office. It has also become a unifying symbol of hope and resilience, a sort of palimpsest of Boricuas’ anti-colonial aspirations. The blackening of the hues freed the flag from the various historical attachments indicated by its traditional colors.... Here was a flag to represent the new political possibilities emerging on the island." [45]
Joaquin Gonzalez : Junior Individual
Website : 1,147 | Process Paper : 498 | Multimedia : 3:46 Minutes
