Antonio Vélez Alvarado
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Antonio Vélez Alvarado a.k.a. "The Father of the Puerto Rican Flag" (June 12, 1864 – January 16, 1948) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician and revolutionary who was an advocate of Puerto Rican independence. A close friend of Cuban patriot
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
, Vélez Alvarado joined the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and is among those who allegedly designed the
Flag of Puerto Rico The flag of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Puerto Rico) represents and symbolizes Puerto Rico and its people. The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, whe ...
. Vélez Alvarado was one of the founding fathers of the
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...
.


Early years

Vélez Alvarado was born in the town of Manatí in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
to José María Vélez Escobar and Cecilia Alvarado Rodríguez. There he received his primary and secondary education. His family were the wealthy owners of various farms in Manati. His father, a former Captain in the local militia, wanted to send him to study at the Artillery Academy in
Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...
, hoping that his son would follow in his foot steps with a military career. However, Vélez Alvarado wanted to be a writer.Vélez Alvarado
Antonio Vélez Alvarado


Puerto Rican Independence

Vélez Alvarado began writing in 1881, for "El Criterio" in
Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...
under the name of "Yuri". He later wrote for "La Crónica" in Ponce, "La Propaganda" in Mayagüez and "El Agente" in San Juan. In his articles he expressed his ideals in regard to Puerto Rican independence from Spain. The local Spanish authorities' tolerated his written work out of respect for his father, however in 1887, he was exiled from the island. Vélez Alvarado went to New York City, where he met and befriended the Cuban revolutionary leader
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
. He also befriended Louis Weiss owner of a printing press. He used Weiss's facilities to publish two magazines, the "Revista Popular" and the "Gaceta del Pueblo". He used the latter to publish articles related to politics and the Cuban and Puerto Rican revolutionary movements. He also published some of Martí's written works. It wasn't long before Vélez Alvarado was able to establish his own printing facility in the seventh floor of the
New York World Building The New York World Building (also the Pulitzer Building) was a building in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, along Park Row between Frankfort Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. Part of the former " Newspaper Row", it was designed by ...
. On February 24, 1892, Vélez Alvarado together with Sotero Figueroa,
Francisco Gonzalo Marín Lieutenant Francisco Gonzalo Marín, also known as Pachín Marín (March 12, 1863 – November 1897), was a poet and journalist who fought alongside José Martí as a member of the Cuban Liberation Army. He is among those who allegedly designed th ...
and Modesto A. Tira placed an ad in the newspaper "El Porvenir" calling for a meeting amongst those who believed in the independence cause. A result of this meeting was the founding of the "Club Borinquen", a political organization in favor of Puerto Rico's independence.


Design of the Puerto Rican flag

According to some accounts on June 12, 1892, Vélez Alvarado was at his apartment at 219 Twenty-Third Street in Manhattan, when he stared at a Cuban flag for a few minutes, and then took a look at the blank wall in which it was being displayed. Vélez Alvarado suddenly perceived an
optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...
, in which he perceived the image of the Cuban flag with the colors in the flag's triangle and stripes inverted. Almost immediately he visited a nearby merchant, Domingo Peraza, from whom he bought some crepe paper to build a crude prototype. He later displayed his prototype in a dinner meeting at his neighbor's house, where the owner, Micaela Dalmau vda. de Carreras, had invited José Martí as a guest. Martí was pleasantly impressed by the prototype, and made note of it in a newspaper article published in the Cuban revolutionary newspaper ''Patria'', published on July 2 of that year. Acceptance of the prototype was slow in coming, but grew with time. Francisco Gonzalo Marín, who decided to have a proper flag sewn based on the prototype, presented the new flag's design in New York's "Chimney Corner Hall" a gathering place of independence advocates two years later. The
Puerto Rican Flag The flag of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Puerto Rico) represents and symbolizes Puerto Rico and its people. The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, whe ...
(with the light blue triangle) soon came to symbolize the ideals of the Puerto Rican independence movement. Other sources document Gonzalo Marín with presenting a Puerto Rican flag prototype in 1895 for adoption by the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in New York City. Marín has since been credited by some with the flag's design. There is a letter written by Juan de Mata Terreforte which gives credit to Marin. The original contents of the letter in Spanish are the following:Vida, pasión y muerte de Francisco Gonzalo Marín
La adopción de la bandera cubana con los colores invertidos me fue sugerida por el insigne patriota Francisco Gonzalo Marín en una carta que me escribió desde Jamaica. Yo hice la proposición a los patriotas puertorriqueños que asistieron al mitin de Chimney Hall y fue aprobada unánimemente.
Which translated in English states the following:
The adaptation of the Cuban flag with the colors inverted was suggested by the patriot Francisco Gonzalo Marín in a letter which he wrote from
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. I made the proposition to various Puerto Rican patriots during a meeting at Chimney Hall and it was approved unanimously.
Plus, in a letter written by Maria Manuela (Mima) Besosa, the daughter of the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee member Manuel Besosa, she stated that she sewed the flag. This created a belief that her father could have been its designer. It may never be known who really designed the current flag, however what is known is that on December 22, 1895, the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee officially adopted the design which represents the current flag.


Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

Puerto Rico never gained its independence, instead it was annexed by the United States under the terms of the
Treaty of Paris of 1898 The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898 ( fil, Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; es, Tratado de París de 1898), was a treaty signed by Spain and the United Stat ...
, ratified on December 10, 1898, which put an end to the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
. Because of his business obligations in New York, Vélez Alvarado was unable to return to Puerto Rico until 1917. Upon his return, he joined the Puerto Rican Union Party headed by
Antonio R. Barceló Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...
, which advocated the independence of Puerto Rico. By 1919, Vélez Alvarado together with
José Coll y Cuchí José Coll y Cuchí (January 12, 1877 – July 2, 1960) was a lawyer, writer and the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. He was a member of a Puerto Rican family of politicians, educators and writers.See: "Notable family members" sect ...
felt that the Union Party wasn't doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rico and together with some followers departed from the party and formed the Nationalist Association of Puerto Rico in San Juan. During that time, there were two other organizations that were pro-independence, the Nationalist Youth and the Independence Association. El Nuevo Dia
On September 17, 1922, the three political organizations joined forces and formed the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Coll y Cuchi was elected president, José S. Alegría (father of
Ricardo Alegría Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo (April 14, 1921 – July 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archaeologist known as the "father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology". Early years Alegría was born in San Juan, Puerto Ric ...
) vice-president and Vélez Alvarado was elected to the Supreme Counsel of the party.


Legacy

The President of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party,
Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (September 12, 1891Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading fi ...
, was among those who were present when Vélez Alvarado died on January 16, 1948, in his home in Manati. Vélez Alvarado is buried in the "Antiguo Cementerio Municipal" of his hometown. In the Plaza de la Historia, located in the Calle (Street) Patriota Pozo of Manati, there is a bronze bust of Vélez Alvarado. The Government of Puerto Rico honored his memory by naming a public school in Manati the "Antonio Velez Alvarado School".Antonio Velez Alvarado School


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans *
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...
*
Ponce massacre The Ponce massacre was an event that took place on Palm Sunday, March 21, 1937, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, when a peaceful civilian march turned into a police shooting in which 19 civilians and two policemen were killed, and more than 200 civilians ...
*
Río Piedras massacre The Río Piedras massacre occurred on October 24, 1935, at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. Puerto Rico Police officers confronted and opened fire on supporters of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Four Nationalist Party members w ...
*
Jayuya Uprising The Jayuya Uprising, also known as the Jayuya Revolt or El Grito de Jayuya, was a Nationalist insurrection that took place on October 30, 1950, in the town of Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The insurrection, led by Blanca Canales, was one of the multiple i ...
* Utuado Uprising *
Truman assassination attempt An assassination attempt on U.S. President Harry S. Truman occurred on November 1, 1950. It was carried out by militant Puerto Rican pro-independence activists Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola while President Truman resided at Blair Hou ...
*
Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ...
*
History of Puerto Rico The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people between 430 BC and AD 1000. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taínos. The Taín ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velez Alvarado, Antonio 1864 births 1948 deaths Puerto Rican Nationalist Party politicians Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican journalists People from Manatí, Puerto Rico Members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Puerto Rican independence activists