Historian uncovers New Evidence Challenging Long-Held Beliefs About the Grito de lares
LARES, Puerto Rico – A historian’s deep dive into primary source documents is challenging widely accepted narratives surrounding the 1868 Grito de Lares, Puerto Rico’s first major revolt against Spanish colonial rule. New findings suggest the iconic checkered flag associated with the uprising wasn’t contemporaneously documented, and the accepted account of the revolt’s unfolding may be based on later interpretations rather than eyewitness testimony.
For decades, the image of a checkered flag bearing a single star has been synonymous with the Grito de lares, representing Puerto rican nationalism and the pursuit of independence. However, historian Carlos Herrera’s research into original interrogation records from the revolt reveals a different picture. He discovered nearly 400 mentions of flags used during the uprising, but only white and red flags are referenced – not the checkered design popularized decades later.
Herrera’s investigation centers on official Spanish interrogations of those involved in the revolt. “I saw all the interrogations available on the cry and in these only a white flag and a red flag are talked about,” Herrera stated. “Throughout all the documents…the theme of the checkered flag with a star arises from the book of Pérez Morris and then Don Ricardo Alegría, when he takes out his press release in 1952 and again when he appears in Spain in 2020.”
the historian also found evidence indicating two distinct flag styles where utilized during the revolt itself. This contrasts with the singular,now-ubiquitous checkered flag. The shift in the ancient narrative, Herrera argues, occurred through subsequent interpretations and a reliance on later publications.
“In the history of the cry there are things that arise from the passion that was brought to historical research, and when the passion goes over historical research there is no faithful count of events,” Herrera concluded, emphasizing the importance of grounding historical understanding in verifiable primary sources. The findings prompt a re-evaluation of the symbols and stories surrounding this pivotal moment in Puerto Rican history, perhaps reshaping how the Grito de Lares is understood and commemorated for generations to come.
