<P> 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 . I made the proposition to various Puerto Rican patriots during a meeting at Chimney Hall and it was approved unanimously . </P> <P> According to other accounts on June 12, 1892, disputed by scholar Armando Martí, Antonio 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 suddenly perceived an optical illusion, 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 (with the light blue triangle) soon came to symbolize the ideals of the Puerto Rican independence movement . </P> <P> 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 . In her letter she described the flag as one which consists of five stripes that alternate from red to white . Three of the stripes are red, and the other two are white . To the left of the flag is a light blue triangle that houses one white five - pointed star . Each part of this flag has its own meaning . The three red stripes represent the blood from the brave warriors . The two white stripes represent the victory and peace that they would have after gaining independence . The white star represented the island of Puerto Rico . The blue represents the sky and blue coastal waters . The triangle represents the three branches of government . Finally, it is also believed by some that it was Lola Rodríguez de Tió who suggested that Puerto Ricans use the Cuban flag with its colors reversed as the model for their own standard . The color of the Cuban flag's blue stripes, however, were a darker shade of blue, according to Professor Martí . </P> <P> Even though the local newspaper "El Imparcial" on January 17, 1948, that Vélez Alvarado was the "Prócer Que Creó Bandera Patria" (The Father of the Puerto Rican Flag) 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 . In 1897, Antonio Mattei Lluberas visited the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in New York City to plan an uprising in Yauco . He returned to Puerto Rico with a Puerto Rican flag and on March 24, 1897, a group of men, led by Fidel Vélez, carried the Puerto Rican flag and attacked the barracks of Spanish Civil Guard of the town Yauco during the revolt against Spanish rule which became known as the "Intentona de Yauco" (Attempted Coup of Yauco). The revolt, which was the second and last major attempt against the Spaniards in the island, was the first time that the flag of Puerto Rico was used on Puerto Rican soil . </P>

Why does the puerto rico flag have one star