Flag of La Rioja (Spain)

La Rioja

Proportion	2:3
Adopted	June 9, 1982
Variant flag of La Rioja
Use	Civil version without coat of arms

The flag of La Rioja is one of the symbols of the autonomous community of La Rioja. It was sanctioned for use by the former governing body of the provincial council for what was then known as the Province of Logroño in 1979 and it appears in the Statute of Autonomy of La Rioja of 1982, which specifies that the flag consist of four horizontal bands of equal size, with the colors of red, white, green, and yellow.

In addition, and similar to the Flag of Spain, a coat of arms can be featured in the center of the flag, specifically the coat of arms of La Rioja. and its use is mandatory for official bodies and entities. It is considered, along with the coat of arms of La Rioja and La Rioja’s anthem, one of the “symbols of Riojan identity.”

Once the provincial council declared its intent to take procedural steps towards regional autonomy, in June 1977 it opened a forum whereby the Riojan population could send its suggestions for the creation of a flag. The local newspapers -La Gaceta del Norte, among others- became interested in the idea and started a campaign from June to July 1977 to popularize the idea. Riojan politicians considered the proposal one of low priority or one that was premature. Of the 260 proposals that were received, eleven were pre-selected on the advice of the vexillologist Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent. On August 5, 1977, a general assembly was celebrated, and five of these eleven proposals were submitted for a popular vote.

Between September 1 and 15, 1977, a plebiscite was carried out and directed by Felipe Abad León, the official chronicler. Between 15,000 and 20,000 votes were submitted. Despite these efforts, the process went nowhere. Opinions and declarations that maintained that it was too early or too inappropriate to approve a flag won out; the process was stalled in part by the president of the provincial council, Julio Luis Fernández Sevilla. After this failed attempt, the question of adopting a flag was forgotten by politicians.

By the spring of 1977 the group of university students in Madrid known as the Colectivo Riojano had requested a flag design from the heraldic expert José María Oria de Rueda, who created various designs employing the five colors of the Riojan coat-of-arms: red, white, green, yellow, and blue.

The designs were put to a vote in September 1977, and although a flag choice was not finalized by the vote, the process did popularize the issue, which became an issue for the general public rather than just for politicians. The design that did win was one of Oria de Rueda’s, but it was not officially adopted by the government.

During the Week of La Rioja in Madrid (November 1977), organized by Colectivo Riojano, a flag was created, painted with a spray can with four colors: white positioned vertically and red, green, and yellow horizontally. Subsequently, in spring of 1978, the Colectivo Riojano also distributed some oval-shaped stickers with a four-colored design, which acquired its present form. In the same year, this flag began to appear in festivals in various towns, even though it lacked official sanction. It appeared, for example, in the revived street party of San Juan in Arnedo, where it appeared for the first time atop the Peña Lubumbas.