The Secret History Behind Cuba's Flag

Cuba's flag was designed before the country was even free.

Narciso López, a Venezuelan-born general living in exile, sketched the design in New York in 1849 — more than fifty years before Cuba would actually win its independence. Three blue stripes represented the island's original military districts. Two white stripes stood for the purity of the cause. A red triangle carried the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. And at its center, one white star on the red field — the Lone Star — for the nation that didn't exist yet, but that López was certain would come.

It took over fifty years, three wars, and the end of Spanish colonial rule before that flag flew over a free republic. Cuba finally raised it on May 20, 1902 — the date printed on every Cuba design in our catalog.

A flag sketched in exile by a man who never lived to see his design fly free — but who was right that it eventually would.

Shop the Cuba collection → — or explore the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Story Cards page.