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Canarian Nationalist Flags (Spain)

Movimiento por la Autodeterminación y la Independencia del Archipielago Canario (MPAIAC) / Congreso Nacional Canario (CNC)
Movement for the Independence of the Canary Islands
Independent Republic of the Atlantic
Free Canary Islands

See also:

Movimiento por la Autodeterminación y la Independencia del Archipielago Canario (MPAIAC) / Congreso Nacional Canario (CNC)

Movement for Self-Determination and Independence of the Canary Archipelago / Canary National Congress

by Jorge Candeias

The MPAIAC led by Antonio Cubillo, who was exiled in Algiers, adopted on 22nd October 1964 the same flag as the Free Canary Islands but in equal bands and with seven green stars in the central blue. The flag was very popular and was adopted for the pre-autonomous government but without the stars.

Some parties adopted the same colours in a different order. Currently the flag with the seven stars is very often used by the people, and there exists a proposal for the Communist Party of the Canary Islands.

Jaume Ollé, 13 December 1996

I received a letter from Antonio Cubillo, leader of the former MPAIAC, speaking about the symbols of the Congreso Nacional de Canarias; he reports the date of creation of the flag and expresses the symbolism according to the flag's creator.

I can see you are interested in the meaning of the Berber letter "Z" that appears in the symbol of our party, the Canary National Congress. Well, being the Canary population of Berber origin it's logical the use of that symbol by the CNC since it's creation in 1985. This Berber letter is the central character of the word amzigh, though in Berber only the consonants M Z G are written, word that means "free man". Imazighen are the free men (it's the plural of amazigh), and this is the way all Berber peoples refer to themselves.

You can also find in the CNC website the flag of the independentists of the Canaries, a vertical tricolour of white, sky blue and yellow with seven green stars in a circle in the central bar. It was created in Algiers on 22nd October 1964 as the flag of the MPAIAC and in due time it became the national flag of the Canaries, adopted by most nationalist parties. White means the water of the mountains that brings life to the land, yellow is Canary yellow like the singing birds and like the wealth of our colonized fatherland and the sky blue is the sky where are located the seven green stars that represent the seven islands with the colour green standing for hope, for we all hope to live some day free in this archipelago.

Antonio Cubillo, President of the CNC and General Secretary of the MPAIAC

Jaume Ollé, 25 April 1998

I confirm the drawing of the Canarian independentist flag, as I saw it at a Amazigh meeting a week ago. The seven green stars are in a circle, with a point toward the exterior. There is a star pointing to the bottom of the flag, so in the topmost part of the circle there are two stars pointing to NNW and NNE.

Joan-Francés Blanc, 27 April 1998

I've GIFfed what seems to be the right version of the canary islands independentist flag, according to Joan-Francés Blanc.

Jorge Candeias, 21 May 1999

About Canary independentist flag seems that the flag posted by Jorge, is in the web but only according write description. In fact according Lucien Philippe and Antonio Cubillo, the flag of MPAIAC had unequal stripes, but it is posible that during the political transition period [late 1970s through early 1980s] changed de facto. When the equal stripes were generally adopted, probably the nationalist changed definitively to the same pattern but with the stars added. So as not to confuse, the blue was sky blue (celeste). The stars are always used (personal observation from J.M. Erbez reported in my Bulletin no.7) surpassing the central stripe.

Jaume Ollé, 23 May 1999

"Libertad Digital" reports on 4 April 2006 that the political party Coalición Canaria (CC) reelected in its IIIrd National Congress Paulino Rivero as its President for the next three years. The party also adopted "the independentist flag with the seven green stars" as "the symbol of the national identity", by 756 positive votes and an abstention.

Source: Libertad Digital, 4 April 2006

Coalición Canaria has 23 seats in the Canarian Parliament; the Spanish Socilaist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Popular Party (PP) have 17 seats each. The last 3 seats are for the Canarian Nationalist Federation. The Parliament is presided by Gabriel Mato Adrover (PP).

Ivan Sache, 21 Apr 2006

Many locals believed that the flag with the seven green stars was the official flag. But I couldn't believe that, because in front of the townhalls you could only see the version with "7-islands-shield" and supporting dogs. I saw however in La Orotava a painting on a wall showing the "7-stars version" with an inscription "education - independence - sovereignty" (of course in Spanish). So I believe that it is the flag of separatists or separatist political parties. I often saw the image as stickers on cars, dust-bins and so on. There were two versions; in both ones a single star was at the bottom. In version #1 the stars were all pointing to the top, while in #2 all stars were pointing to a point in the middle of the stars.

Sources and Credits

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 May 2007

Incorrectly reported flag (single top -instead of bottom- star)
by Jaume Ollé

Movimiento Pro-Independencia de Canarias

Movement for the Independence of the Canaries

by Jaume Ollé

In the 1950s was born the first independence movement, named Movimiento Pro-Independencia de Canarias, that used a flag based on the provincial maritime ensigns. (After 1927 there were two maritime provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with a blue flag, and white saltire; and the province of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, a blue and yellow flag divided diagonally from the lower hoist to the upper fly.)

Jaume Ollé, 13 December 1996

República Independiente del Atlántico

Independent Republic of the Atlantic

by Jaume Ollé

Another movement of this time proposed the creation of the Independent Republic of the Atlantic (in Spanish República Independiente del Atlántico that used a very attractive flag also based on the provincial maritime ensigns, and including the seven stars (in red).

Jaume Ollé, 13 December 1996

It was a Canarian independentist movement based in Venezuela. Their influence in the islands was very scarce.

Jaume Ollé, 21 August 1999

Canarias Libre

Free Canary Islands

by Jaume Ollé

In 1961 was born the "Free Canary Islands" movement (Canarias Libre) that used (for the first time on 8 September 1961) the current colours but with different proportions.

Jaume Ollé, 13 December 1996