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.

History and symbolism
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 Lopez, 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 specifications of both were formally established by decree of the first president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, on April 21, 1906. The flag has remained mostly unchanged since then, the only change that was made to the flag after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which established the present-day communist state of the Republic of Cuba, was the three sky blue stripes being changed to a darker shade of blue.

In 2019, Cuba introduced the "National Symbols Bill". The official press release said the bill "would establish more flexible use of these items with a view toward promoting their greater presence in society, within a legally defined, respectful framework". According to ADN Cuba, the bill states that the flag could be used "as a means of publicity only when the messages that are transferred contribute to fostering and developing patriotic values in people and to form a patriotic conscience of respect and veneration for them and for the historical tradition of the nation". In August 2019, artists from the San Isidro Movement launched a campaign using the hashtag "#LaBanderaEsDeTodos" to protest against restrictions placed on the use of the Cuban flag by the Cuban government and the arrest of artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara under the new law.

Subsequent use
In April 1869, López's flag was designated the national banner by the Congress of the Republic of Cuba. López's flag was the model for the flag of Puerto Rico adopted in 1895 by the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico, a pro-independence group that worked under the auspices of the Cuban Revolutionary Party.

After the United States seized Cuba from Spain during the Spanish–American War, the U.S. flag flew from January 1, 1899, until independence was granted. On May 20, 1902, the Cuban national flag was hoisted as a symbol of independence and sovereignty. It has been used ever since, remaining mostly unchanged after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. During the revolution, Cuban president Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement created a party flag equally divided in red and black like the Angolan national flag usually in horizontal stripes and often with inscriptions, which is often flown on public buildings.

Specifications


The Cuban flag is at a length-to-width ratio of 2:1. It is made up of 5 alternating horizontal stripes, three blue and two white. These blue and white stripes are of equal width. The color of blue is specifically turquiose. The red chevron is in the shape of an equilateral triangle. The star within the chevron has a diameter that is $1/3$ the length of the hoist. Its middle is halfway up the flag.