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| Estelada blava | |
| Use | Civil flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Design | Nine horizontal alternating equal stripes of yellow and red, with a white five-pointed star on a blue chevron. |
| Designed by | Vicenç Albert Ballester |
 Estelada vermella | |
| Use | Civil flag |
| Adopted | 1972 |
| Design | Nine horizontal alternating equal stripes of yellow and red, with a red five-pointed star on a yellow chevron. |
TheEstelada (Eastern Calatan:[əstəˈlaðə]; pl.Estelades; full nameSenyera estelada,lit. 'starred flag' or'lone star flag', fromestel, "star") is a flag flown byCatalan independence supporters to express their support for an independentCatalonia or independentPaïsos Catalans (Catalan Countries, theCatalan-speaking territory, which includesValencia and theBalearic Islands). The design of theEstelada comprises the red-and-yellow bars of theSenyera, with the addition of a five-pointed star in a triangle at thehoist.
The use of this flag as a protest symbol withinCatalan nationalism has become more notable since the 1970sSpanish transition to democracy. The self-proclaimedCatalan Republic of 2017 did not adopt the Estelada as its national flag, instead using the regularSenyera.
The flag dates from the early 20th century; it was most probably designed in 1918 byVicenç Albert Ballester i Camps.[1] It came from combining the traditional four red stripes over a yellow field of theSenyera with a blue triangle at the hoist containing a five-pointed white star, inspired by theflags of Cuba, thePhilippines andPuerto Rico. Later designs combine theSenyera with a yellow triangle at the hoist containing a five-pointed red star. In both designs the lone star motif means Catalan independence.
The 3rd Article of the provisional Constitution of theCatalan Republic, written and approved in 1928 inCuba by theAssemblea Constituent (Constituent Assembly) of Catalan separatism, specifically provided that the official flag of theCatalan 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 theCuban War of Independence ended, theCentre Catalanista de Santiago de Cuba (Catalanist Centre ofSantiago de Cuba) was created. An embryonic Catalanestelada flag could already be seen: in the middle of asenyera 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 theUnió Catalanista (Catalanist Union). It is a stamp commemorating the acquisition of thePi de les Tres Branques (Three-Branched Pine) by the Catalanist Union.
Later, in 1906, a star appeared in the nameplate of the magazineFora 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, onceWorld War I was over, Europe saw a wave of newnation-states being created, with the assistance of PresidentWoodrow Wilson.
The politics of theLeague of Nations (and later theUnited Nations) allowed many nations to seize the opportunity of independence, andCzechoslovakia,Finland,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania, andIceland did so in 1918; other nations likeArmenia,Azerbaijan,Ukraine,Belarus andGeorgia, 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 theCatalan case, theComitè 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 theestelada 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 bulletinL’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 anestelada.
There are several kinds ofestelada. One is in the last number ofLa Tralla ("The Whip", a radical separatist magazine from the 1920s), before thecoup d'état byMiguel Primo de Rivera. The other is in a document published by theComitè 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 magazineLa Nova Catalunya (1920), (The New Catalonia). Theestelada flag went on to appear in other Catalan separatist publications.
Anestelada was owned byFrancesc Macià during thefailed 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 theestelada in several other places.
In 1928, with the presidency of Francesc Macià in the Constituent Assembly of the Catalan independence movement, theestelada 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 theestelada 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, theestelada still appears numerous times. Some of these flags only have two colours due to the shortage of money, but the traditionalestelada with the blue triangle and white star was kept.
After theFrancoist dictatorship came to power, theFront Nacional de Catalunya (National Front of Catalonia), or FNC, which used the Catalan flag and theestelada, 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 thePartit 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 starto red; in 1969, this new version of theestelada 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, theMoviment 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 theBloc 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.
As of 2005 both kinds ofEstelada flag (the classic and the red) are used at the same time.
After theFall of Communism in Europe the red star of theEstelada vermella (red estelada) has steadily lost some of its original leftist meaning, however, the left-wing pro-independence political parties still make use of it predominantly and almost exclusively, particularly thePopular Unity Candidacy (CUP),Endavant andPoble Lliure, as well as their youth organizations and trade unions. It is sometimes currently flown just as a simpler and less cluttered version of theEstelada in the traditional Catalan colors.[citation needed]
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 often use the red-starEstelada as a symbol.[citation needed]
In 2016, the Spanish government prohibited football fans from bringing esteladas to theCopa del Rey final match betweenBarcelona andSevilla, held inMadrid. 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."[2] A Madrid judge overruled the ban after Barcelona complained, citingfreedom of expression.[3]
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TheValencian nationalist Senyera, also known simply asEstrelada, is a flag ofValencian Community that evolved from the regional flag based on the former CatalanEstelada.
The white star version has been used by Valencian nationalist groups since the early 20th century. Some of these groups may beblaverist (Valencianregionalist, as opposed to Catalan nationalist) in their ideology, especially those with more pro-sovereign positions.[4]
The oldest extant document showing thisEstrelada - with a red star - is a war poster of theValencian Left.[5]
Since its creation, variousEstelades, orEstrelades (such as theAndalusian,Aragonese orGalician separatist flags) have been adopted by leftistseparatist movements within Spain. SomeEstelades have also been used for other purposes than separatism.
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![This flag was intended in the past to become the flag of the independent Catalan Countries[citation needed]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEstelada_dels_Pa%25C3%25AFsos_Catalans_independents.svg)
http://www.reeixida.cat/documents/proposta-tecnica-bandera-estelada-1.pdf(in Catalan)
