Estelada
Encyclopedia
The Estelada is an unofficial flag typically waved by Catalan independentists
to express their support for an either independent Catalonia or independent Països Catalans. The usage of this flag as a protest token within Catalan nationalism
became more apparent ever since the 1970s Spanish transition to democracy
.
The estelada pattern is the one of the senyera
but with the addition of a five-pointed star inserted in a triangle.
with a triangle containing a star, inspired by the flag of Cuba
.
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 provides that the official flag of the Catalan Republic
consists of four red bars on a yellow field, superimposed with a blue triangle and white five-pointed star.
The star in the fighting flag comes from the early days of nationalism. The lone star means national freedom and independence. Cuba's fight for its independence was followed with attention by the Catalanists of the nineteenth century. Once the Cuban War of Independence
ended, in 1906, the Centre Catalanista de Santiago de Cuba
(Catalanist Centre of Santiago de Cuba) was created, where one could already see the primitive Catalan “estelada” flag: in the middle of a “senyera” there was a white star with five points.
The first star with a clear nationalist intention known in Catalonia is of a date before 1904, and it has to do with the “Unió Catalanista” (Catalanist Union). It is a stamp commemorating the ownership process of “Pi de les Tres Branques” (The Three Branches Pine) by the Catalanist Union.
Later, in 1906, a star appears in the headers of the magazine Fora Grillons! (Breaking Chains!), made in Santiago de Cuba by Catalan exiles (a publication that already claimed clearly the independence of Catalonia).
During the twenties, once the First World War is over, Europe sees a wave of creation of nation-state
s, helped by the American president Woodrow Wilson
.
The politics of the League of Nations
allowed many nations to see their historical opportunity to free themselves, and so did Czechoslovakia
, Finland
, Estonia
, Latvia
, Lithuania
and Armenia
during the year 1918; other nations like Ukraine
, Belarus
and Georgia
, were declared independent but occupied by the Soviets straight away.
In all these nations that have the hope of freedom, pressure groups start to mobilize in international spheres. In the Catalan
case, the Comitè Pro-Catalunya (Pro-Catalonia Committee) was one of the most active. It was in these circumstances that a need was seen to have a symbol able to represent the Catalan aspirations and, of course, a star appeared on it.
It was since then that one started to hear about the “estelada” flag. Its design is, probably, of Vicenç Albert Ballester, where the blue triangle signifies the blue sky of humanity, and in its centre, the white star symbolizes freedom.
The first photograph where the flag appears is in a publication dated in 1918. It is the bulletin “L’intransigent” (The Intransigent), where a photo is reproduced of a group of young Americans and Catalan separatists holding both flags.
Also in 1918, there is in circulation a comic strip – a stamp without postal value – dedicated to the future Society of Nations, where there was also an “estelada”.
There are several kinds of “estelada”. One is in the last number of “La Tralla” (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
, appears for first time the headers of the magazine “La Nova Catalunya” (1920), (The New Catalonia).
The “estelada” flag goes on to appear in other Catalan separatist publications.
The “estelada” was in the possession of Francesc Macià during the failed invasion of Prats de Molló in 1926. It appears between the Catalan volunteers in prison and the time when they were taken to Paris to be put on trial. There are also photos of the volunteers with the “estelada” in many other different places.
In 1928, with the presidency of Francesc Macià in the Constituent Assembly of the Catalan separatism, the “estelada” is again with them, and the Catalan separatists make it theirs.
During this period a new habit starts and it is present until those days. Every time a prominent Catalan nationalist dies, in a sign of grievance, his comrades cover with a black cloth the part in the “estelada” with the four bars of the Catalan flag, leaving the star visible as a sign 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 Franco
ist dictatorship came to power, the Front Nacional de Catalunya (National Front of Catalonia), or FNC, which used the Catalan flag and the “estelada”, is formed as an answer to the new Spanish nationalist regime.
During the sixties, in the university section of the FNC, there was a split named Partit Socialista d’Alliberament Nacional dels Països Catalans, (Socialist Party for the National Liberation of the Catalan Countries) (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
. So, in 1969, a 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 verions of the flag only could take place when the Movement of Marxist Unification and the Bloc d’Esquerra d’Alliberament Nacional (Bloc of the Left for the National Liberation) (BEAN) both disbanded. At that time the flag with the red star and the yellow triangle were the symbol of the socialist and communist independentists.
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 lost steadily its original leftist meaning. Presently it is flown merely as a less color-cluttered, simpler estelada version 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 (and often vandalistic) 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.
The Valencian nationalist senyera, also known simply as estrelada, is a flag of Valencia
that evolved from the flag of Valencia City based on the former Catalan estelada.
The white star version is used by Valencian nationalist groups since the early 20th century. Some of these groups may even be of blaver ideology, especially those with more pro-sovereign positions.
The oldest conserved document with a reference, with a red star, is a war poster of Valencian Left
.
Since its creation, different estelades, or estrelades have been adopted by independentist movements in Spain and France, such as the Aragon
ese, Galician, Occitan
and Andalusia
n.
Catalan independentism
Catalan independentism is a political movement, derived from Catalan nationalism, which supports the independence of Catalonia or the so-called Catalan countries from Spain and France...
to express their support for an either independent Catalonia or independent Països Catalans. The usage of this flag as a protest token within Catalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism or Catalanism , is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
became more apparent ever since the 1970s Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
.
The estelada pattern is the one of the senyera
Senyera
The Senyera is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a golden background...
but with the addition of a five-pointed star inserted in a triangle.
Design and meaning
The flag dates from the early 20th century, most probably designed in 1918 by Vicenç Albert Ballester i Camps. It was born from the fusion of the four traditional red stripes of the SenyeraSenyera
The Senyera is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a golden background...
with a triangle containing a star, inspired by the flag of Cuba
Flag of Cuba
The flag of Cuba was adopted on May 20, 1902, containing a field with three blue stripes and two white stripes, and a red equilateral triangle at the hoist with a white 5-pointed star....
.
History
Catalan Republic
The Catalan Republic also known as the Catalan State, is an unrecognized state claimed by the Catalan independentism or nationalism. The Catalan Republic has been proclaimed at least four times:* In 1641, by Pau Claris....
, written and approved in 1928 in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
by the “Assemblea Constituent” (Constituent Assembly) of Catalan separatism, specifically provides that the official flag of the Catalan Republic
Catalan Republic
The Catalan Republic also known as the Catalan State, is an unrecognized state claimed by the Catalan independentism or nationalism. The Catalan Republic has been proclaimed at least four times:* In 1641, by Pau Claris....
consists of four red bars on a yellow field, superimposed with a blue triangle and white five-pointed star.
The star in the fighting flag comes from the early days of nationalism. The lone star means national freedom and independence. Cuba's fight for its independence was followed with attention by the Catalanists of the nineteenth century. Once the Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War and the Little War...
ended, in 1906, the Centre Catalanista de Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
(Catalanist Centre of Santiago de Cuba) was created, where one could already see the primitive Catalan “estelada” flag: in the middle of a “senyera” there was a white star with five points.
The first star with a clear nationalist intention known in Catalonia is of a date before 1904, and it has to do with the “Unió Catalanista” (Catalanist Union). It is a stamp commemorating the ownership process of “Pi de les Tres Branques” (The Three Branches Pine) by the Catalanist Union.
Later, in 1906, a star appears in the headers of the magazine Fora Grillons! (Breaking Chains!), made in Santiago de Cuba by Catalan exiles (a publication that already claimed clearly the independence of Catalonia).
During the twenties, once the First World War is over, Europe sees a wave of creation of nation-state
Nation-state
The nation state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit. The state is a political and geopolitical entity; the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity...
s, helped by the American president Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
.
The politics of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
allowed many nations to see their historical opportunity to free themselves, and so did Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
during the year 1918; other nations like Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, were declared independent but occupied by the Soviets straight away.
In all these nations that have the hope of freedom, pressure groups start to mobilize in international spheres. In the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
case, the Comitè Pro-Catalunya (Pro-Catalonia Committee) was one of the most active. It was in these circumstances that a need was seen to have a symbol able to represent the Catalan aspirations and, of course, a star appeared on it.
It was since then that one started to hear about the “estelada” flag. Its design is, probably, of Vicenç Albert Ballester, where the blue triangle signifies the blue sky of humanity, and in its centre, the white star symbolizes freedom.
The first photograph where the flag appears is in a publication dated in 1918. It is the bulletin “L’intransigent” (The Intransigent), where a photo is reproduced of a group of young Americans and Catalan separatists holding both flags.
Also in 1918, there is in circulation a comic strip – a stamp without postal value – dedicated to the future Society of Nations, where there was also an “estelada”.
There are several kinds of “estelada”. One is in the last number of “La Tralla” (a radical separatist magazine from the 1920s), before the coup d'état by Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
. 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
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, appears for first time the headers of the magazine “La Nova Catalunya” (1920), (The New Catalonia).
The “estelada” flag goes on to appear in other Catalan separatist publications.
The “estelada” was in the possession of Francesc Macià during the failed invasion of Prats de Molló in 1926. It appears between the Catalan volunteers in prison and the time when they were taken to Paris to be put on trial. There are also photos of the volunteers with the “estelada” in many other different places.
In 1928, with the presidency of Francesc Macià in the Constituent Assembly of the Catalan separatism, the “estelada” is again with them, and the Catalan separatists make it theirs.
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 Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
ist dictatorship came to power, the Front Nacional de Catalunya (National Front of Catalonia), or FNC, which used the Catalan flag and the “estelada”, is formed as an answer to the new Spanish nationalist regime.
During the sixties, in the university section of the FNC, there was a split named Partit Socialista d’Alliberament Nacional dels Països Catalans, (Socialist Party for the National Liberation of the Catalan Countries) (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
Red star
A red star, five-pointed and filled, is an important ideological and religious symbol which has been used for various purposes, such as: state emblems, flags, monuments, ornaments, and logos.- Symbol of communism :...
. So, in 1969, a 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 verions of the flag only could take place when the Movement of Marxist Unification and the Bloc d’Esquerra d’Alliberament Nacional (Bloc of the Left for the National Liberation) (BEAN) both disbanded. At that time the flag with the red star and the yellow triangle were the symbol of the socialist and communist independentists.
Present-day use
After the Fall of Communism
Revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989 were the revolutions which overthrew the communist regimes in various Central and Eastern European countries.The events began in Poland in 1989, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and...
in Europe the red star of the estelada groga ("yellow estelada") has lost steadily its original leftist meaning. Presently it is flown merely as a less color-cluttered, simpler estelada version 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 (and often vandalistic) 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.
Valencian nationalist senyera
 |
.svg.png) |
|---|
The Valencian nationalist senyera, also known simply as estrelada, is a flag of Valencia
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
that evolved from the flag of Valencia City based on the former Catalan estelada.
The white star version is used by Valencian nationalist groups since the early 20th century. Some of these groups may even be of blaver ideology, especially those with more pro-sovereign positions.
The oldest conserved document with a reference, with a red star, is a war poster of Valencian Left
Valencian Left
Valencian Left is a nationalist Valencian leftist party founded in the Valencian Community, founded in April, 1998 a group of ex-members of Unitat del Poble Valencià formed left this party and went to form a new political group using the vacant name of the historical Esquerra Valenciana.EV's...
.
Other estelades
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Aragon Aragon Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza... |
Galiza |
Since its creation, different estelades, or estrelades have been adopted by independentist movements in Spain and France, such as the Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
ese, Galician, Occitan
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
and Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
n.
Further reading
- Joan Crexell i Playà, L'origen de la bandera independentista, Edicions El Llamp, 1984.