As political tensions escalate in Spain, there is an ever increasing presence of flags on the streets and being hung from the balconies. As a foreigner to this country it can seem awfully confusing to know what each one means and represents, so I thought I would do a little bit of research.
17 Autonomous Regions: It is interesting to note that Spain, in accordance with the Spanish constitution of 1978, has the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to 17 communities and regions. Spain is in essence a decentralized unitary state, whereby the nations ruling party has devolved limited powers to the communities, allowing them to exercise their right to self-government within the limits set forth within the constitution and their autonomous statutes.
LA SENYERA:
The official flag of Catalonia! This is the flag you will most likely see being flown outside official Catalan government buildings in Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia. La Senyera is Catalan for flag, however; it is most often used to refer to this flag in particular.
The flag dates back to the 11th Century, to the Counts of Barcelona, carries the same red stripe on a golden background design that is on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon that ruled areas in the Mediterranean during the Medieval Period.
LA ESTELADA (blava): Blava (trans. from Catalan: Blue)
The flag is used by nationalists to symbolize the desire for the independence of Catalonia from the rest of Spain and is said to have first appeared in 1904.
They are draped all over balconies within the city and held by supporters during political rallies and demonstrations. The flag uses the same design as the la Senyera but incorporates a blue triangle with a five-pointed star over the stripes. Estelada is the Catalan word for “starry”.
LA ESTELADA (vermella): Vermella (trans. from Catalan: Red)
Similar in design to La Estelada (blava), this flag also represents the desire for an independent Catalonia, however; the key difference is political stance. This flag was adopted by leftist groups in the 70s to symbolize a socialist independence movement of all Catalan-speaking areas and thus dons a red star in place of the white star and blue triangle.
THE FLAG OF BARCELONA
The flag combines the cross of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, with the red and gold stripes of La Senyera, the regional flag. It is less common than La Senyera or La Estelada and is generally flown over municipal buildings such as the city hall
SI FLAG OR BANNER
Currently seen hanging from peoples balconies calling people to vote ‘Yes’ in the independence referendum in Catalonia as supplied by assemblea.cat in 10 colours
LA ROJIGUALDA:
The official Spanish flag is seen very little in Barcelona, and is only flown over official Spanish government buildings. As a whole the Catalan’s do not consider themselves Spanish and therefore do not raise the Spanish flag even on National days. The La Rojigualda has two red stripes over a golden block with the coat of arms on the center edge. It was first chosen to be a naval ensign in 1785 by Charles III of Spain until Queen Isabella II made it the official national flag in 1843.
LA TRICOLOR:
The la tricolor or flag of the Second Spanish Republic was the official flag of Spain between 1931 and 1939 and the flag of the Spanish Republican government in exile until 1977. It is now widely used by trade unions and left-wing political organizations, such as United Left, the Marxist-Leninist Party, republican platforms and some factions of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party. (there’s one hanging from the balcony across the road from us)
Ref Source: suitelife.com, Wikipedia
Image Source: suitelife.com, Wikipedia, Indian Express, assemblea.cat
stephenburkedesigns 
Very well done – as always !!! You´re someone for research you ! Ouf. Your bloggs/info/Web should go further to the Swedes as they know Nothing about all this. Not even those who live here…Or, you should enter SWEA´s website, even though that´s only for women.. The onlytiny little thing I noticed was the writing about the Spanish flag. It was not stressed that that it hangs only on Spanish governement buildings – never on official Catalan buildings. So it is in the harbour (as it is Spanish) with the exception of the Presi- dency (as they are forced to..still belonging to Spain. It could have stressed in the article that Spain is a federal country consisting of 17 auto- nom nations. (Very few people know that as well). The Catalans, for example, do not heave up the Spanish flag on the official National day. As they don´t consider themselves as Spaniards. (At least those responsable for the flags..). Vale, what a wonderful weather. Difficult to imagine that we´ll have a cold thursday..So they say. See ya.. xxx M&N
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