Fighting against the Spanish Crown with the rebel armies of Venezuela, Narciso López moved from his native Caracas to Havana, Cuba.

[2] The poet Miguel Teurbe Tolón designed the flag alongside Lopez, based upon the story of López's vision.

López and Tolón, together with José Aniceto Iznaga Borrell,[3] his nephew José María Sánchez Iznaga,[4] Cirilo Villaverde and Juan Manuel Macías, settled upon the final design for the flag of Cuba: two white stripes, three blue, a red triangle, and a lone star.

The Demajagua flag was not scrapped, but instead, was put in the sessions of the House of Representatives and retained as part of the national treasure.

On the morning of May 20, 1902, the day Cuba officially became an independent republic, Generalissimo Máximo Gómez had the honor of hoisting the flag on the flagpole of the castles of the Tres Reyes del Morro, Havana; therefore sealing with this act the end of the Cuban revolution, the end of struggle for Cuban independence, and at the same time justifying the sacrifice that so many offered to make this dream become reality.

The design specifications of both were formally established by decree of the first president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, on April 21, 1906.

The official press release said the bill "would establish more flexible use of these items with a view toward promoting their greater presence in society, within a legally defined, respectful framework".