Estelada

The Estelada (; pl. ''Estelades''; full name '' Senyera estelada'', , from ''estel'', "star") is an unofficial flag typically flown by Catalan independence supporters to express their support for either an independent Catalonia or independent ''Països Catalans'' (Catalan Lands, the territories in which Catalan is traditionally spoken).
The design of the ''Estelada'' comprises the red-and-yellow bars of the '' Senyera'', with the addition of a five-pointed star in a triangle at the hoist.

The use of this flag as a protest symbol within Catalan nationalism has become more notable since the 1970s Spanish transition to democracy. The self-proclaimed Catalan Republic of 2017 did not adopt the Estelada as its national flag, instead using the regular Senyera.

Design and meaning

The flag dates from the early 20th century; it was most probably designed in 1918 by Vicenç Albert Ballester i Camps. It came from combining the traditional four red stripes over a yellow field of the '' Senyera'' with a blue triangle at the hoist containing a five-pointed white star, inspired by the flags of Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. Later designs combine the '' Senyera'' with a yellow triangle at the hoist containing a five-pointed red star. In both designs the lone star motif means Catalan independence.

History

The 3rd Article of the provisional Constitution of the Catalan Republic, written and approved in 1928 in Cuba by the ''Assemblea Constituent'' (Constituent Assembly) of Catalan separatism, specifically provided that the official flag of the Catalan Republic should consist of four red bars on a yellow field, superimposed with a white five-pointed star in a blue triangle.

The star in the flag comes from the early days of nationalism, the lone star symbolising national freedom and independence. Cuba's fight for its independence was watched closely by the Catalanists of the nineteenth century and in 1906, when the Cuban War of Independence ended, the ''Centre Catalanista de Santiago de Cuba'' (Catalanist Centre of Santiago de Cuba) was created. An embryonic Catalan ''estelada'' flag could already be seen: in the middle of a ''senyera'' there was a white star with five points.

The first star with a clear nationalist intent known in Catalonia is from before 1904, associated with the ''Unió Catalanista'' (Catalanist Union). It is a stamp commemorating the acquisition of the '' Pi de les Tres Branques'' (Three-Branched Pine) by the Catalanist Union.

Later, in 1906, a star appeared in the nameplate of the magazine
Fora Grillons!
' (Breaking Chains!), published in Santiago de Cuba by Catalan exiles - a publication that had already clearly proclaimed the independence of Catalonia.

During the late 1910s, once World War I was over, Europe saw a wave of new nation-states being created, with the assistance of President Woodrow Wilson.

The politics of the League of Nations (and later the United Nations) allowed many nations to seize the opportunity of independence, and Czechoslovakia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland did so in 1918; other nations like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia, were declared independent, but were then immediately annexed by the Soviet Union.
From the nations that hoped for independence, pressure groups began to mobilize internationally. In the Catalan case, the ''Comitè Pro-Catalunya'' (Pro-Catalonia Committee) was one of the most active. It was in this context that a need was perceived to have a flag as a symbol of Catalan aspiration; and, of course, a star appeared on it. Since then the ''estelada'' flag began to be spoken of. It was probably designed by Vicenç Albert Ballester, with the blue triangle signifying the blue sky of humanity, and the white star symbolizing freedom.

The first photograph in which the flag appeared was in a publication dated the bulletin ''L’intransigent'' (The Intransigent) in 1918. It shows a group of young Americans and Catalan separatists holding both flags. Also in 1918, there was a comic strip in circulation—a stamp without postal value—dedicated to the future League of Nations, where there was also an ''estelada''.

There are several kinds of ''estelada''. One is in the last number of ''La Tralla'' ("''The Whip''", a radical separatist magazine from the 1920s), before the ''coup d'état'' by Miguel Primo de Rivera. The other is in a document published by the ''Comitè Pro-Catalunya'' written in Catalan and Arabic, to greet and encourage one of the Moroccan leaders who revolted against Spain.

In Cuba, it appeared for first time in the nameplate of the magazine ''La Nova Catalunya'' (1920), (The New Catalonia). The ''estelada'' flag went on to appear in other Catalan separatist publications.

An ''estelada'' was owned by Francesc Macià during the failed invasion of Prats de Molló in 1926; it appeared between the imprisonment of the Catalan volunteers and their transfer to Paris to be put on trial. There are photographs of the volunteers with the ''estelada'' in several other places.

In 1928, with the presidency of Francesc Macià in the Constituent Assembly of the Catalan independence movement, the ''estelada'' was again seen, and the Catalan separatists made it their flag.

During this period a new practice began, and continues to the present day; whenever a prominent Catalan nationalist dies, as a sign of mourning, his comrades will cover the red bars of the ''estelada'' with a black cloth, leaving the star visible to signify that they will continue pursuing the same ideals.

Later, during the period from 1931 to 1936, the ''estelada'' still appears numerous times. Some of these flags only have two colours due to the shortage of money, but the traditional ''estelada'' with the blue triangle and white star was kept.

After the Francoist dictatorship came to power, the '' Front Nacional de Catalunya'' (National Front of Catalonia), or FNC, which used the Catalan flag and the ''estelada'', was formed in response to the new Spanish nationalist regime.

During the sixties, in the university section of the FNC, there was a faction called the '' Partit Socialista d’Alliberament Nacional dels Països Catalans'', (Socialist Party for the National Liberation of the Catalan Countries), or PSAN. Because this party wanted to make its own socialist and Marxist ideas clear, it decided to change the colour of the star to red; in 1969, this new version of the ''estelada'' started to appear at PSAN meetings.

In the mid-seventies, the PSAN had, in turn, its own splits. They led to the creation of a new movement, the ''Moviment d’Unificació Marxista'' (Movement of Marxist Unification), which started to use the red star inside a white triangle, while the PSAN kept the red star inside a yellow triangle.

The unification of the two versions of the flag could only take place when the Movement of Marxist Unification and the ''Bloc d’Esquerra d’Alliberament Nacional'' (Left National Liberation Bloc), or BEAN, both disbanded. At that time the flag with the red star and the yellow triangle were a symbol of both socialist and communist separatists.

Current use

As of 2005 both kinds of ''Estelada'' flag (the classic and the red) are used at the same time.

After the Fall of Communism in Europe the red star of the ''Estelada groga'' (yellow estelada) has steadily lost some of its original leftist meaning, but not totally. It is sometimes currently flown just as a simpler and less cluttered version of the ''Estelada'' in the traditional Catalan colors.

The estelada is ubiquitous as a simplified symbol - four vertical bars topped by a star, sprayed or daubed on walls, lampposts or mailboxes all over Catalonia. These simple graffiti are most often in one basic color, either in black or red. More elaborate large pro-independence graffiti use often the red-star ''Estelada'' as a symbol.

In 2016, the Spanish government prohibited football fans from bringing esteladas to the Copa del Rey final match between Barcelona and Sevilla, held in Madrid. The government applied the article 2.1 of the Law on Sports, which prohibits the display of symbols that "incite, foment or help violent or terrorist behavior." A Madrid judge overruled the ban after Barcelona complained, citing freedom of expression.

Valencian nationalist Senyera

File:Senyera del nacionalisme valencià.svg
File:Senyera d'Esquerra Valenciana (1931).svg

The Valencian nationalist Senyera, also known simply as '' Estrelada'', is a flag of Valencian Community that evolved from the regional flag based on the former Catalan ''Estelada''. However, has never been used, since Catalan independence support in the Valencian community is below 0.1%.

The white star version has been used by Valencian nationalist groups since the early 20th century. Some of these groups may be '' blaverist'' (Valencian separatist, as opposed to Catalan nationalist) in their ideology, especially those with more pro-sovereign positions.

The oldest extant document showing this ''Estrelada'' - with a red star - is a war poster of the Valencian Left.

Variations

Since its creation, various ''Estelades'', or ''Estrelades'' (such as the Andalusian, Aragonese or Galician separatist flags) have been adopted by leftist separatist movements within Spain. Some ''Estelades'' have also been used for other purposes than separatism.

Other Spanish Estelades

File:EstreladaAragonesa.svg, Aragon
File:Bandeira galega socialista.svg, Galicia
( Estreleira)
File:Andecha Astur.svg, Asturias
File:Bandera Siete Estrellas Verdes.svg, Canary Islands
File:Bandera Andalucía Libre.svg, Andalusia
File:Flag of Castile (with star).svg, Castile
File:Bandera del nacionalismo murciano.svg, Murcia
File:Bandera Nacionalista Extremadura.svg, Extremadura
File:Bandera del regionalismo manchego.svg, La Mancha
File:Bandera Leonés con estrella.svg, León

Other Estelades

File:Estelada Juventud de Badalona.svg, Starry with colors of Club Joventut de Badalona
File:Estelada RCD Espanyol.svg, Starry with colors of RCD Espanyol
File:Estelada FC Barcelona.svg, Starry with colors of FC Barcelona
File:Estelada Palamós CF.svg, Starry with colors of Palamós CF
File:Estelada roja-variant.png, Version used by the PCE(i)
File:Estelada Verda.svg, Estelada ''verda'', green version used by ecologists and animalists
File:Estelada romboidal.svg, The first Estelada,with a blue rhombus,old version of the current blue design
File:Antiga-Estelada blava amb estel roig.png, Old type of blue estelada with red star. Used by the Socors Català
File:Antiga-Estelada del PSAN.png, Estelada used by the PSAN (1968-1977), Marxist Unification Movement (1977-1978), Catalan Workers Bloc (1978-1982) and Left Bloc for National Liberation (1979-1982).
File:Antiga-Estelada amb estel blau.png, Estelada with blue star seen in Catalan student demonstrations in the 1970s
File:Estelada de 3 estrelles.svg, Estelada with 3 estrelles.
File:Estelada Rey.svg, Estelada with key.
File:Estelada a l'estil ianqui.svg, This estelada inspired by the flag of the United States was proposed unsuccessfully in the late 60s.
File:Estelada anarquista.svg, Anarchist estelada, with an eight-pointed star, each representing the 8 regions of the Catalan Countries
File:Estelada dels Països Catalans independents.svg, This flag was intended in the past to become the flag of the independent Catalan Countries
File:Estelada Fundació Reeixda.svg, Flag proposed (June 2017) by the Fundació Reeixida as the official flag of an independent Catalonia.

References

Further reading

*Joan Crexell i Playà, ''L'origen de la bandera independentista'', Edicions El Llamp, 1984.

External links

http://www.reeixida.cat/documents/proposta-tecnica-bandera-estelada-1.pdf


100th anniversary of estelada flag

History of the estelada flag


{{flags of Spain
Catalan independence movement
Politics of Catalonia
Catalan symbols
Unofficial flags
Flags introduced in 1918