Puerto Rico Flag

Puerto Rico's flag depicts and symbolizes the island and its people. The current flag's origins may be traced back to 1868, when Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances designed the first Puerto Rican flag, “The Revolutionary Flag of Lares,” which was embroidered by Mariana “Brazos de Oro” Bracetti. This flag was used in the short-lived Puerto Rican insurrection against Spanish rule on the island known as “El Grito de Lares,” which developed a Puerto Rican national consciousness for the first time under colonial rule.

The flag of Lares was adopted as the flag of Puerto Rico by Juan de Mata Terreforte, an exiled veteran of “El Grito de Lares” and vice-president of the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in New York City, until 1895, when the current design, modeled after the Cuban flag, was unveiled and adopted by the committee.

The new flag was first flown in Puerto Rico on March 24, 1897, during the “Intentona de Yauco” revolt, and consisted of five equal horizontal bands of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, and a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bearing a large, white, five-pointed star in the center.

The usage and exhibition of the Puerto Rican flag was prohibited, and the only flags allowed to fly in Puerto Rico were the Spanish flag (1492-1898) and the American flag (1898 to 1952). The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico made the 1895 flag design its official standard in 1952. The hue of the triangle utilized by the Luis Muoz Marn government was dark blue, to match the color of the US flag.