Chile's flag

Chilean Flags Flamencoando

The national flag of the Republic of Chile, known as the Lone Star, is the banner that officially represents that country. It was adopted on October 18, 1817 and is divided into two horizontal stripes: the upper one is one third turquoise blue and two thirds white while the lower one is red; In the blue canton there is a white five-pointed star.

The most common interpretations of its three colors would attribute to blue the representation of the sky, to white the snow-capped peaks of the Andes mountain range, and to red the blood shed by national heroes in the war for independence. In turn, the star would symbolize the three branches of the Chilean State (executive, legislative and judicial) that watch over the integrity of the nation, and its uniqueness would be a reference to the unitary State —unlike, for example, the multiple stars of the flag of the United States representing the federal state. However, considering the verses of Canto XXI of the epic poem La Araucana (1569), the three colors of the current Chilean flag would go back to the tricolor bands used by the Mapuche toquis during the Arauco War. against the Spanish Conquest, while the pentagram would represent the "star of Arauco" -the planet Venus- according to Bernardo O'Higgins.

The Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980 determines in its 2nd article that "the national flag, the coat of arms of the Republic and the national anthem are national emblems", while in its article 22. º establishes that "every inhabitant of the Republic owes respect to Chile and its national emblems". public [...] b) Those who publicly insult the flag, the shield or the name of the homeland».

Decree 1534 of 1967 of the Ministry of the Interior states that it is mandatory to hoist it on all public or private buildings in Chile on May 21 (Naval Glories Day) and September 18 and 19 (National Holidays and of the Glories of the Chilean Army, respectively).

Since 1939, the Chilean Armed Forces have held the Pledge of Allegiance ceremony on July 9 —when the 77 soldiers killed in the battle of La Concepción in 1882, during the Pacific War, are commemorated. On the other hand, they were designated October 18 as the "Day of Celebration of the National Shield and Flag" by decree 443 of 1972 of the Ministry of Defense and July 9 as the "Official Day of the National Flag" through the Decree 1100 of 1974 of the Ministry of the Interior.

Confection

Proportion

Here the canton presents a marine blue color, one of the most used tones

Its preparation is officially defined in Decree 1534 of December 12, 1967 of the Ministry of the Interior, which systematized and consolidated various legal and regulatory norms on the use of national emblems —among others, Law 2597 of January 11 of 1912 (which set the colors and proportions of the national flag, the presidential band and the cockade or cockade) and Supreme Decree 5805 of August 26, 1927 of the Ministry of the Interior (which set the dimensions of the national flag for use in buildings and public offices)—, modified by Decree 938 of January 29, 2013.

According to said decree, the proportion between the width and the length —or sheath and flight— of the Chilean flag is 2:3, being divided horizontally into two strips of equal size. While the lower sector corresponds to the color red, the upper sector is subdivided into a blue square and a white rectangle, whose lengths are in a 1:2 ratio, respectively. The star is located in the center of the blue canton and is made on a circle whose diameter corresponds to half the side of the canton.

The aforementioned decree also defines the tones of the flag as turquoise blue, white and red. However, there are no technical specifications on the exact tone of the colors of the flag, so it is possible to find flags with a wide range of colors. color range; the most notorious case is that of blue, which fluctuates from bright blue to navy blue. Compare this with the blue of the Cuban flag, which is also described as "turkey blue" and is defined by the Pantone system as 2765-CVC, equivalent to a dark blue color that falls short of navy blue.

The Government of Chile uses a logo based on the national flag and its colors are defined both in the Pantone system and in the CMYK and RGB color models for use in digital and print formats. These colors are similar to the official colors of the flag, but do not correspond precisely to them.

Deployment

Deployment of the Chilean flag horizontally and vertically

According to Law 20537 of October 3, 2011, the national flag or patriotic flag is a national emblem whose shape and characteristics are contained in Law 2597 of January 11, 1912, on colors and proportions of the flag national, the presidential band and the cockade or cockade, and can be used or hoisted without prior authorization, always taking care to safeguard respect for it and to observe the provisions that regulate its use or hoisting. Additionally, the decree 1534 of December 12, 1967 of the Ministry of the Interior states that it is mandatory to raise the flag in all public or private buildings on May 21 (Naval Glories Day) and September 18 and 19 (National Holidays and Day of the Glories of the Chilean Army, respectively).

According to the corresponding protocol, the flag must be hoisted from the top of a white mast, and if it is done in the company of other different flags, these must be of the same or smaller size. The Chilean flag must be placed on the left if the number of flags, including the Chilean one, add up to an even number; or to the center if they add up to an odd number and, in addition, it must be the first to go up and the last to go down. If there is no flagpole, the flag can be hung horizontally or vertically on the wall of a building, always leaving the star above and to the left of the viewer.

History

Flags before 1810

The use of flags as a way of representing people, states or nations is a custom that began in Europe and Asia, so it is unlikely that, before the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, this type of emblem existed in America. Added to this is the non-existence of political entities that grouped the various indigenous tribes and of historical records prior to the arrival of the colonizers during the XVI century. .

Mapuche flags

Mapuche flag according to the work The young Lautaro (1946) de fray Pedro Subercaseaux

Flag according to a chronicle of 1839, possibly used by Mapuche troops at the beginning of the centuryXVIII

The first records of the possible use of flags by indigenous peoples date back to the Arauco War, the best known being the one described in Canto XXI of the epic poem La Araucana (1569). In it, Alonso de Ercilla described a warrior named Talcahuano, an inhabitant of the lands near the current city that bears his name, who was followed by troops wearing blue, white, and red emblems.

It happened after this then Talcahuano, [...]
covered with high feathers, very parrot,
following his fighting people,
to the bias crossed
blue, white and incarnated bands.

Song XXI, La Araucana (1569).

For the Mapuche people, blue symbolizes abundance, order, the universe and life, spirituality or the sacred; white, healing, cleanliness and longevity, prosperity and wisdom; and red, strength and power, the history of the struggle of the Mapuche people and memory.

Descriptions made late in the XIX century document that the Mapuche hosts used a flag, the antiquity of which is not certain. According to an 1839 chronicle, this flag was composed of a white star on a blue background, similar to the canton of the current Chilean flag, and would have been used by Mapuche troops at the beginning of the century XVIII.

A second flag appears being waved by the cacique Lautaro (ca. 1534-1557) in his best-known artistic representation, El joven Lautaro (1946), created by fray Pedro Subercaseaux; he had a white eight-pointed star centered on a blue staggered star or cross fringed with white on a red background.

Spanish flags

Burgundy Cross, Military emblem of the Hispanic Monarchy

Flag used by the king of Spain for his domains since 1785

In the case of the colonizing hosts, various Spanish flags were used. Each battalion had its own flag, which could incorporate various heraldic elements, including the coat of arms of the King of Spain.

One of the most used symbols was the Cross of Burgundy, a red cross on a white background. The Cross of Burgundy was one of the main emblems of the Spanish Empire overseas, which is why it flew over warships and was carried by militias in colonial territory.

In 1785 Carlos III established a uniform flag for all the vessels of the Spanish Armada, similar to the current flag of Spain. The use of this red-and-white flag was extended in January 1786 to "maritime squares, their castles and others any of the coasts". Despite the establishment of this new flag, the Cross of Burgundy continued to be used frequently by colonial bodies.

Flags after 1810

On September 18, 1810, the First National Government Board was established —officially the "Provisional Government Board of the Kingdom in the name of Fernando VII"—, the first autonomous form of government to emerge in Chile and the episode that began the process Chilean independentista. Said Junta declared itself, at least nominally, faithful and "always subject" to King Fernando VII, so the symbols of the Hispanic government were maintained.

Flag of the Old Homeland

Flag of the Oldland (1812-1814). Simple version, without the Chilean shield, used by merchant ships

Flag of the Oldland (1812-1814). Alternative version with the first Chilean shield, cross of Santiago and different color layout

The desire for emancipation gained more strength during the government of José Miguel Carrera, one of whose first acts was the implantation of national symbols —such as a cockade, a coat of arms, and a distinctive flag to identify patriots—.

According to tradition, the first flag was embroidered by the ruler's sister, Javiera Carrera, and presented and first flown in El Monte on July 4, 1812, during a dinner with US Consul Joel Roberts Poinsett to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the independence of that country. The flag was made up of three horizontal stripes in blue, white and yellow, which represented characteristics of nature: respectively the blue sky, the Andean snow and the golden fields of wheat and corn. For Fray Camilo Henríquez, those colors represented the three powers of the State: popular majesty, law and force.

In the Chilean capital on the following September 30, during the celebration in commemoration of the First Government Junta, the Chilean coat of arms of the so-called "Patria Vieja" was solemnly adopted and included in the center of the flag. On that occasion, a salute of twenty-one guns was fired when the flag was hoisted and later a dance was offered inside the Mint.

Although the blue-white-yellow version of the Patria Vieja flag is currently the most recognized, and is the one included by the Government of Chile in its official commemorations, other versions use a different arrangement of colors, such as white-blue-yellow, for example. On other occasions, along with including the coat of arms in the central strip, the cross of Santiago in red is added in the upper left corner —the origin of this emblem would date back to victory patriot in the battle of El Roble, where among the belongings of the defeated captured as spoils of war was a distinctive insignia of the Order of the Apostle Santiago, an important symbol of Spanish pride.

Flag of the Army of the Andes

Originally, the symbols of the Old Homeland served as military banners without having a charge of national union. This changed in 1813, after the royalist invasion and the outbreak of the Chilean War of Independence, when the Spanish symbols for the country, the army and merchant ships were definitively abolished, and the patriotic forces formally adopted the tricolor flag in an act in the Plaza Mayor of Santiago. Months later, Carrera abandoned political and military power and, in 1814, Francisco de la Lastra took over as supreme director. The independence war began to generate great losses for the patriot side, for which reason the Lircay treaty was signed on May 3, 1814. This pact reaffirmed Spanish sovereignty over Chilean territory, so one of its direct consequences was the readoption of the colonial flag to the detriment of the tricolor flag.

The flag of the Old Homeland waved again after Carrera's return to power on July 23 of the same year until the battle of Rancagua, on October 1 and 2, where the royalist victory put an end to the patriot government and began to the Spanish Reconquest, reinstating the imperial banner. The tricolor flag was used for the last time in the Battle of the Papers (October 11, 1814), although it appeared again flown on the ships that José Miguel Carrera brought in 1817 and during his campaigns in Argentina between 1820 and 1821.

The Reconquest ended on February 12, 1817 with the victory of the Army of the Andes in the battle of Chacabuco. In said battle, the patriotic troops fought with the colonel of the army and with the flag of the Army of the Andes, inspired by the shield of Argentina —there is no data on whether they used the blue-white-yellow ensign; in his account of the battle, Bartolomé Miter completely omitted this detail.

Currently, the flag of the Old Homeland is used during commemorations related to this period of Chilean history and those carried out by the National Institute, founded by the Carrera government. Although at first it was a symbol of "careerism", the emblem was later adopted by Chilean nationalist movements - for example, the flag with a superimposed red lightning bolt was the insignia of the National Socialist Movement of Chile between 1932 and 1938.

Transition Flag

Transition Flag, 1817

Possible flag used during a few days of 1817

The patriot triumph in Chacabuco gave way to the period known as "New Homeland." A new national flag, whose design is attributed to the Argentine Juan Gregorio de Las Heras, was adopted on May 26, 1817 and widely disseminated at the time. This flag is currently called the "Transition flag" for being the insignia used between the first national flag and the flag raised to this day.

This flag was made up of three horizontal stripes of blue, white and red. The origin of these colors would be in the story given by Ercilla in La Araucana (1569), where he described the insignia of the Mapuche troops. Their meaning would be equivalent to that of the colors of the flag of the Patria Vieja, due to the similarity between the two flags, although it changes the yellow for red, which would represent the blood shed during warfare.

Despite initial enthusiasm, this pavilion was not officially legalized and disappeared almost five months later. According to the General History of Chile (1884-1902) by Diego Barros Arana, it was deployed for the last time during the commemoration ceremony of the battle of Rancagua, just over two weeks before the adoption of the current national emblem. Although there is no certainty and it is not considered by most Chilean historians, there is information about a possible flag between the "Transition" and the final one, which would have interchanged the order of the white and blue stripes and incorporated the white five-pointed star on the central stripe.

Current flag

Reproduction of the original flag design

Original flag on which Chile's independence was sworn

Common flag used until 1854

Transition Shield Surrounded by Flags Including the Wünelfe eight-pointed portrait of Bernardo O'Higgins painted by José Gil de Castro, 1821)

Flag that was established for civil use in 1826 and used until 1854

The conception of the current flag is generally attributed to José Ignacio Zenteno, Secretary of War in the government of Bernardo O'Higgins. Its design was the work of the Spanish-Chilean soldier Antonio Arcos, despite the fact that some historians maintain that it was Gregorio de Andía y Varela who drew it, and its preparation was carried out by Dolores Prats Urízar de Huici, although it has also been awarded to the Peneda sisters.

Although it would have been used for the first time on July 16, 1817, during the feast of the Virgen del Carmen, this flag was made official on October 18, 1817 —through a decree of the Ministry of War, of which there are only indirect references as there is no copy of it—and officially presented on February 12, 1818, during the oath of independence ceremony, where its bearer was Tomás Guido.

The original flag was designed based on the golden ratio, which is reflected in the relationship between the sheath and flight of the flag and the sides of the blue canton. The star does not appear upright in the center of the rectangular canton, but rather that its upper point appears slightly inclined towards the area of the neck, in such a way that the projections of its sides cut the length of the canton in the golden ratio. In addition, in the center of it, the emblem that appeared on the national coat of arms adopted in 1817 and known as "of the Transition" was printed, like the previous flag. However, there was a variant almost identical to this one that used the complete version of the national coat of arms of 1817. This variant dates from the battles of the War of Independence and was used officially as the "State Flag" until 1834, when the use of the Transition coat of arms was definitively suppressed.

The adoption and configuration of the star would go back to that of the flags used by the Mapuche people. According to O'Higgins —a member of the Lautaro Lodge—, it was the "star of Arauco". Mapuche iconography, Wünelfe (name castilianized as guñelve), the morning star or planet Venus, was represented through the figure of an octagonal star or a foliated cross. Although the Chilean flag currently has only one pentagonal star, its original designs included an eight-pointed asterisk inserted in the center of the star, a symbol of the guñelve, representing the combination of European and indigenous traditions. However, with the passage of time and due to the difficulty of making it, the design was simplified: the embroidered shield and the eight-pointed asterisk disappeared, while the main star stood up completely.

This simplified version was widely used by society, which caused a decree in February 1826 to forbid its use for purposes unrelated to the army or government and allowed citizens to use an identical flag but without the star. This did not go unnoticed by the inhabitants, who felt deprived of the national emblem. In July 1854, another decree returned the right to use the star flag to the entire population, suppressing the unpopular version with the empty blue canton.

Few records remain of the original design, with the emblem of the column, the most valuable being the flag used in the oath of independence, which was two meters wide and a little over two meters long and a half. The flag was protected by various heritage institutions until it was stolen on March 30, 1980 by members of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR) as a form of protest against the military dictatorship. Said group kept the specimen and returned it in December 2003 to the National Historical Museum, where it is currently located.

Legal provisions

Opening of the Bicentennial Flag at the Plaza de la Ciudadanía, symbol of the Bicentennial of Chile (2010)

Time of Flags, by Ricardo Meza (in access to the Palacio de La Moneda)

In 1854, through a declaration of the then Ministry of War and Navy, the shape and design of the flag was described, determining its colors, white, blue and red, with a white five-pointed star in the middle of the blue square, the proportion that the colors that make up the flag should keep to each other was fixed, leaving the canton as a square and the proportion between sheath and flight established at 2:3. Finally, by law 2597 of January 12, 1912, it was established that it would be made up of the colors turquoise blue, white and red, the diameter of the star was fixed, and the precedence of the colors in the presidential sash and in the ribbons of the decorations was also determined, fixing it in blue, white and red, from top to bottom or from left to right of the viewer.

All these provisions were later consolidated in Decree 1534 of December 12, 1967 of the Ministry of the Interior, issued during the government of President Eduardo Frei Montalva, which determined the national emblems and regulations for their use. Its Article 1 established that the national emblems were "the Coat of Arms of the Republic, the National Flag, the Cockade or Cucarda and the Presidential Banner or Presidential National Flag."

Subsequently, the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980 determined in its 2nd article that "the national flag, the coat of arms of the Republic and the national anthem are national emblems", while in its article 22nd established that "every inhabitant of the Republic owes respect to Chile and its national emblems." For its part, decree 890 of August 26, 1975 of the Ministry of the Interior (State Security Law) provided in its article 6th that "commit a crime against public order [...] b) Those who publicly insult the flag, the shield or the name of the homeland".

According to the aforementioned 1967 decree, the civil use of the flag was restricted only to special and defined events, since it prohibited any person or gathering of people from using the patriotic flag in public, as well as hoisting it in public buildings or private, without the authorization of the respective mayor or governor, with the exception of May 21 (Navy Glories Day) and September 18 and 19 (National Holidays and Chilean Army Glories Day, respectively), in which established the obligation to raise the flag in all public or private buildings.

Diverse initiatives tried to modify this provision in order to allow the civil use of the flag. Within the framework of the inauguration of a monumental flag in the Plaza de la Ciudadanía as a way to celebrate the Bicentennial of Chile, President Sebastián Piñera announced the introduction of a bill that would allow the free use of the flag by civilians. The bill was approved by Congress on July 20, 2011, promulgated on the following September 16, and published on October 3 of that same year as Law 20537, establishing that it may be used or hoisted without prior authorization, taking care always safeguard respect for it and observe the provisions that regulate its use or hoisting.

Subsequently, by decree 938 of January 29, 2013 of the Ministry of the Interior, the decree of December 12, 1967 was modified, establishing that, with the exception of May 21 and September 18 and 19 of each year, in which it must be hoisted obligatorily and to the top, the national flag can be used or hoisted without prior authorization, always taking care to safeguard respect for it and to observe the provisions of said regulation.

The Chilean Police are responsible for supervising compliance with the rules that regulate the use or hoisting of the national flag.

Variants

Presidential flag

Presidential flag of Chile

The President of the Republic has an emblem of his exclusivity, which is only raised in the place where the first president is —in this way, it is restricted to official ceremonies in which the Head of State is present, having to always be placed to the right of the podium or front panel; in addition, it is also used in vehicles when the president is transferred. This presidential banner is made up of the national flag on whose center the coat of arms of Chile is embroidered.

When the presidential flag is flown, the national flag may not be flown in the same place. No civilian can use this flag, as it is prohibited.

On the other hand, the presidential band, one of the symbols of the authority of the president of Chile, is a variation of the flag as it is made up of three stripes with their colors, being similar to the so-called "Transition".

Flag of the bow

Proa flag

The bow flag or jack —used by Chilean Navy vessels to indicate that they are active duty units commanded by a naval officer— corresponds to a square equivalent to the turquoise blue canton of the national flag with the white star in the center. This little pancake is inspired by the command ensign of British Vice Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane, who first hoisted it on the frigate O'Higgins on December 23, 1818, twelve days after it was launched. Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy.

Another variant used by the Navy corresponds to the so-called "command pennant", symbol of the command of a ship, which is a long and narrow flag, in the shape of a triangular pennant, with the characteristics of the Chilean flag of a meter long whose width decreases until it ends in a point and to which one more meter is added for every thousand miles sailed under the command of the commander.

Cultural aspects

It has been associated with some legends and anecdotes, and celebrated both in Chilean literature and music.

Legends and anecdotes

The daughter of the Baehcker family holding the Chilean silk flag that allegedly won an international contest

There is a myth that, in the northern summer of 1907, the Chilean banner would have won an "international flag contest." Supposedly, two Chilean families —Baehcker and Casas— traveled to the Blankenberghe [sic] spa (Belgium) as part of their vacation. Upon arriving in said city, they found this contest and decided to participate, with the surprise of winning among a multitude of emblems:

« Flag contest in Béljica - Triomphe of Chile»
[...] We have come from the Old World the new grata that our dear Republican badge has won the first prize in an international contest of flags verified in the picturesque city of Blankenberghe, one of the most popular resorts on the Baltic coast, in Béljica. Perhaps none of the festivals that are held there at the summer station awakened greater interest than the flag contest and this is a demonstration of the great diversity of nationalities of people who come in search of health and pleasant recreation to the beautiful beaches of Blankenberghe. He touched the rare coincidence that two Chilean families, the one of the Red ladies of Baehcker and the one of Don Felipe Casas Espínola, were also found there at the time of the tournament. It was natural that they made known with this occasion our national flag; so they did indeed and oh, happiness, the jury agreed to give him the first prize among a multitude of emblems that were sent to the contest.

Revista Zig-ZagOctober 6, 1907 (original spelling).

However, the lack of independent sources and the mistake of the locality mentioned —which is located next to the North Sea and not the Baltic— cast doubt on what actually happened. Another version gives it second place after the French flag, while a variation of the myth states that, in an international national anthem contest, the Chilean anthem would have obtained second place after La Marseillaise.

Literature

He has been the protagonist of some poems, such as "At the foot of the flag" (1928), where the so-called "national poet" Víctor Domingo Silva exalted his patriotism, "Los colores de la bandera", by the Nobel Prize winner Gabriela Mistral, "A la bandera", by Manuel Magallanes Moure, and "Oración rojo-azul-blanco", by Rubén Campos Aragón.

Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda wrote «A la bandera de Chile», a poem that was later set to music by Vicente Bianchi and that participated in the folkloric contest of the Viña del Mar Song Festival in 1973, when it was performed by the group The Fortineros.

Music

The first hymn dedicated to the Chilean flag, «Canción a la bandera de Chile», by the author Francisco Bello Boyland (1817-1845) and the composer José Zapiola, had a chorus that read: «Bandera tricolor, / flag of victory, / the course of glory / you show courage". The government of Manuel Bulnes, through Ángel Prieto Cruz, commissioned a melody from Zapiola for Bello's text in 1843; In the National Holidays of that year, the anthem was sung by the ladies Fierro, Garfias, Hurtado, Necochea and Recasens accompanied by a band.

In 1917 Enrique Soro composed "Himno a la Bandera Chilena", whose text was written by Francisco Z. Concha Castillo. In 1935, the musician Donato Román Heitman composed the tune "Mi banderita chilena", recorded by Los Huasos Quincheros, Lucho Gatica and Tito Fernández, among others. The Chilean flag, both the first and the current one, are the subject of some cuecas, among which we can mention "When that Cousiño park", "When the dawn was born », «In the court of Heaven», «Long live the dawn of Chile» and «Already with three centuries of struggle».

Odonymy

The merchant Pedro Chacón y Morales, Arturo Prat's maternal grandfather, had a store on Calle Atravesada de La Compañía, then named after the nearby Jesuit church. Around 1817, there he sold not only clothes and fabrics but also independence pamphlets, such as The North American Revolution and The Mainland Revolution .

He was one of the first to make and raise the new flag; every time the patriotic troops were victorious, he hoisted the patriotic colors in his store. For this reason, the street came to be known by the nickname "Calle de la Bandera" —currently, one of the main streets in the center of Santiago-.

Sports

Their colors are used in the uniforms of the Chilean national teams, mainly red in the jersey, such as soccer, tennis and rugby. The Red Tide unfurled a giant flag during the matches of the soccer team in the 2015 Copa América, in whose final there were 40,000 donated by local businessman Leonardo Farkas at the Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium.

Society

He appeared in "The Man with the Flag," a photograph taken on February 28, 2010 by Associated Press photographer Roberto Candia that became a symbol of that year's earthquake.

Similar flags

Chilean flagflaming in the Patagonian canals

Between 1795 and 1818, the flag of the United States consisted of fifteen horizontal bars, eight alternating red and seven white, and a blue canton in the upper left-hand corner with fifteen five-pointed white stars. Both the bars and the stars represented the number of states that then made up that country.

During the process of the independence of Peru (1820-1821), both the fleet of the Liberating Expedition of Peru and the troops of the United Liberating Army used a banner identical to the Chilean flag, from where both groups departed, but with three stars in the canton that represented the three nations united by the independence cause: the Argentine Provinces, Chile and Peru.

The Texas state flag is very similar, varying mainly in that the blue division reaches the full width or sheath of the Texan flag. This flag was officially adopted as the state flag 184 years ago, on January 25, 1839, and is nicknamed The Lone Star Flag, 'the lone star flag'; in English, similar to the nickname given to the Chilean emblem.

On the other hand, the Chilean flag would have served as an inspiration for the Cuban independence fighters who started the so-called Ten Years' War in the so-called "Grito de Yara" (1868). The leader of this revolution, Carlos de Céspedes, would have been inspired by it to create the first Cuban flag, called "de la Demajagua" in honor of the place where the revolt began. The only differences are that the blue and red colors appear inverted, and that the canton occupies half of the flight and not the third as in the Chilean. Apparently, with this flag, Céspedes intended the efforts made by Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna on behalf of Chile to achieve Cuban independence, after the end of the Spanish-South American War. According to Céspedes' son, his father "imagined a flag new, that sporting the same colors and shape of that of Carreras [sic] and O'Higgins differs from it in the layout of those". However, a previous design, that of Narciso López, became the definitive Cuban flag; the Demajagua flag was finally adopted as the island's little torrotito.

United States flag (1795-1818) Flag of the Libertadora Expedition of Peru (1820) Texas State Flag, United States (1839) First flag of Cuba (1868)

Regional flags

Regional flags exhibited at the National Congress of Chile in Valparaíso (2008)

Chile is politically and administratively divided into 16 regions, whose internal governments correspond to the respective governors. The regional governments, in charge of the superior administration of each of the Chilean regions, have the power to adopt regional emblems, to be used in official events together with the national flag.

Although each region has its flag, many of them lack official status or relevance and are rarely used. The main exceptions correspond to the following:

• Flag of the Atacama Region (1996), first launched during the Liberal-Constituent Revolution of 1859 — driven by mining moguls, such as Pedro León Gallo and the Matta family — was employed as a banner of combat by the rebel forces of the country, being their widespread use until today.
• Flag of the Magellan and Chilean Antarctic Region (1997), adopted as a symbol of Magellanic identity by its inhabitants.
• Flag of the Rios Region (2008).
• Flag of the Lakes Region (2013).
• Flag of the Coquimbo Region (2013).

In the Plaza de la Constitución in Santiago, each region is represented with a Chilean flag in front of the Palacio de La Moneda —the seat of national government—

Flag of Arica and Parinacota Flag of Tarapacá Flag of Antofagasta Flag of Atacama Flag of Coquimbo Flag of Valparaiso Flag of the Metropolitan Region Flag of O'Higgins Flag of Maule Flag of Ñuble Flag of Biobío Flag of La Araucanía Flag of Los Ríos Flag of Los Lagos Flag of Aysén Flag of Magellan and Chilean Antarctica Flag of Easter Island