Last modified: 2011-01-07 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: spain | canary islands | cross: saltire (white) | stars: 7 (red) | stars: 7 (green) | berber | independentist | movimiento pro-independencia de canarias | atlantic | canarias libre | mpaiac | congreso nacional de canarias |
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![[Independentist flag (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es}icind.gif) image by Jorge Candeias |
![[Independentist flag (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es}mpaiac.gif) image by Klaus-Michael Schneider and Eugene Ipavec, 15 Mar 2010 |
The MPAIAC led image 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 Dec 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 Apr 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 Apr 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, 04 April 2006
Coalición Canaria has 23 seats in the Canarian Parliament; the Spanish Socialist 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.
According to [ebz07], p.18 the party had been established on 22 October 1964 in Algeria by Antonio Cubillo, a Tinerfenian. MPAIAC claims a Berber state of “Azarug,” including the Canary Islands and parts of the opposite Western coast of Africa. Though this party didn’t play a role in the elections, different variants of their flag can be found rather often, at least in Puerto de la Cruz and the valley of Orotava. The seven green stars are stressing that the Canarians are originally had been of Berberian, i.e. African, stock. A variant I spotted on 13 February in Puerto de la Cruz near the central market shows the 5-point stars ordered in a circle, all pointing to the circle’s centre.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 May 2007 and 15 Mar 2010
![[MPAIAC (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es-mpai.gif)
Incorrectly reported flag (single top -instead of bottom- star)
image by Jaume Ollé
![[Movimiento Pro-Independencia de Canarias (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es}icmic.gif)
image 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 Dec 1996
![[Independent Republic of the Atlantic proposal (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es!ic-ri.gif)
image 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 Dec 1996
It was a Canarian independentist movement based in Venezuela. Their influence in the islands was very scarce.
Jaume Ollé, 21 Aug 1999
![[Canarias Libre proposal (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es-clib.gif)
image 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 Dec 1996
![[Republic of the Canaries proposal (Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es-ic}at.gif)
7:12
image by Eugene Ipavec, 03 Oct 2010
From http://www.diariodecanarias.com/taknara.html [link dead, but available from archive.org:]
La bandera de la Awanyak n Teknara constituye uno de los interesantes ejemplos de un diseño que se ha ido modificando con el curso de los años ( otros ejemplos: las respectivas banderas de Costa Rica, República Dominicana, Irán, Tailandia, etc.)Los colores de la bandera de Taknara son el blanco, el azul celeste y el amarillo, estando dispuestos los dos primeros en estrechas franjas verticales que representan, respectivamente, la paz y la libertad. En cuanto al color amarillo, que es el color canario por antonomasia, es el predominante de nuestra enseña nacional. En el centro de ésta figura una pintadera precolonial, que representa nuestras raíces e identidad nacionales y que sustituye a las siete estrellas de cinco puntas, pues, además, el territorio nacional de Taknara comprende no sólo el Archipiélago, sino también los departamentos continentales de Tarfaya y de Targa Tazeggwaght.
Las proporciones de la bandera de la Awanyak n Teknara son 7 : 12 (como las de Grecia y las del Estado norteamericano de Missouri).
Jens Pattke, 03 Sep 2005
I assume Teknara is the name of the place; what language is "awanyak n" and what does it mean?
Albert Kirsch, 03 Sep 2005
It's modern Canarian, and it means "Republic of." "Teknara" is indeed the place – the Canary Islands. "Republic of the Canarias," striving for independence from Spain.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 04 Sep 2005
However, it should be pointed out that "modern Canarian" is an artificial attempt to revive a long dead language (actually probably languages) of which extremely little is know. There have been no native speakers of "Canarian" since the 15th or 16th century, and very little of the languages used on the islands was recorded before they dissappeared. They were probably related to Berber but how closely is a matter of dispute (some even question whether the languages used on some islands were even in the same language family at all).
So-called "modern Canarian" is basically modern Berber, put forth for political purposes, without much justification from historical linguistics.
Ned Smith, 04 Sep 2005
With all my sympathy for Canarian separatism, this Awanyak n Teknera business is utter rubbish and even if its flag has any real world currency at all, it is still only one-man's pet mania.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 04 Sep 2005
![[]](../images/e/es}ices.gif) As observed in use image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 May 2010 |
![[]](../images/e/es}ices!.gif) With correctly-proportioned Spanish triband; hypothetical image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 May 2010 |
I am trying to identify a flag that is rectangular with equal-sized white/blue/yellow vertical stripes in its top half, then red/yellow/red equal-sized horizontal stripes in its bottom half. Can you help?
Albert Kirsch, 16 May 2007
This seems to be a mix of Canary Islands' flag (top) and Spain's flag (bottom). Note that the Canary Islands are part of Spain.
José Luis González, 10 Oct 2007
This is a mix between the Canarian and Spanish flag, used by people against Canarian independentism.
Alejandro Salamanca, 08 Jul 2008