The Grito Lares flag, most commonly known as La Bandera de Lares , represents the Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares) revolt of 1868, the first of two short-lived rebellions against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. It consists of a large white Greek cross in the center that extends to all four sides of the flag, dividing it into four equal rectangles, two red and two blue, the upper left of which bears a centered, five-pointed white star. The white star stands for liberty and freedom, the red rectangles for the blood poured by the heroes of the revolt, and the white cross for the yearning of homeland redemption. Established in Lares 27 years before revolutionaries adopted the current flag of Puerto Rico in New York, the flag is recognized as the first flag of the island.
Original flag of the Grito de Lares (1868)
Original flag of the Grito de Lares (1868)
Grito de Lares, also referred to as the Lares revolt, the Lares rebellion, the Lares uprising, or the Lares revolution, was the first of two short-lived revolts against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico, staged by the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico on September 23, 1868. Having been planned, organized, and launched in the mountainous western municipality of Lares, the revolt is known as the Grito de Lares . Three decades after rebelling in Lares, the revolutionary committee carried out a second unsuccessful revolt in the neighboring southwestern municipality of Yauco, known as the Intentona de Yauco (The Attempted Coup of Yauco). The Grito de Lares flag is recognized as the first flag of Puerto Rico.
Grito de Lares
Original Revolutionary Flag of the Grito de Lares, c. 1868
The city's nickname, Ciudad del Grito can be seen on an overpass as one enters Lares.
Ramón Emeterio Betances, co-leader of the revolt