RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on January 6, 1995, the Puerto Rican Community of Chicago celebrated the installation of two flags of steel on Division Street: one on Artesian and the other on Mozart, the largest steel flags in the world at 59 ft. high and 56 ft. wide; and
WHEREAS, January 6, marks the most important date of the Puerto Rican ritual calendar - El Dia de los Tres Santos Reyes Magos; and
WHEREAS, in 1995 Puerto Ricans marked the 100th anniversary ofthe adoption ofthe national emblem on December, 22 1895, by Puerto Ricans in the diaspora, members of the Borinquen Chapter of New York of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, which was an entity founded by the father of Cuban Independence, Jose Marti, for the express purpose of fighting for the independence of Puerto Rico and Cuba from Spain; and
WHEREAS, the Puerto Rican flag - modeled after the Cuban flag as a fraternal sign of unwavering solidarity - became the most intimate and expressive symbol of Puerto Rican identity, particularly among Puerto Ricans in the United States who rescued it from the anonymity and illegality that had informed its history after the adoption of Law 53, which beginning in 1948, prohibited Puerto Ricans on the island from publicly displaying their beloved flag, unless accompanied by the U.S. flag; and
WHEREAS, the Puerto Rican steel flags serve as a vivid memory of the Puerto Rican presence and persistence in the city - the flags are made from steel because one of the first waves of Puerto Ricans migrants to Chicago came to work in the steel mills. The stripes are steel pipelines, which pay homage to another wave of Puerto Ricans who came to work in the steel pipeline industry. Finally, all elements were welded together to remember another wave of Puerto Ricans that came to work in the welding industry; and
WHEREAS, the flags draw up the boundaries of an area popularly known as Paseo Boricua - a concept developed by Puerto Rican anthropologist and artist Ramon Lopez -which has become the hea...
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