The Grito de Lares, September 23, 1868.

The Grito de Lares (Cry of Lares) was the first of two brief uprisings against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. Organised by the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico, it took place on September 23, 1868, in the town of Lares.

Rising Tensions: The Road to Rebellion

In the 1860s, Spain was entangled in various conflicts across Latin America, including a war with Peru and Chile, while also dealing with slave revolts in Cuba. During this time, both Puerto Rico and Cuba faced a severe economic crisis due to heavy tariffs and taxes imposed by the Spanish central government on imports and exports, as Spain desperately needed these funds to support its troops stationed in the Dominican Republic.

In mid-19th century Puerto Rico, many advocates for independence, as well as those calling for liberal reforms, were jailed or exiled. However, in 1865, Madrid attempted to address the growing unrest in its overseas territories by establishing the Junta Informativa de Reformas de Ultramar (Informative Board on Overseas Reforms), to hear grievances from provincial representatives.

Despite the efforts of the Puerto Rican delegates, the Junta, dominated by mainland Spanish representatives, rejected most proposals, including the abolition of slavery. Eventually, in 1870, Emilio Castelar, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, approved an abolition bill. However, other proposals for greater autonomy and limits on the governor general’s power were rejected. After returning to Puerto Rico, the delegates met with local leaders, where Ramón Emeterio Betances, a prominent independence advocate, called for a full-scale rebellion and a swift proclamation of independence. Frustrated by continued political and economic repression under the Spanish government’s centralised rule, an armed rebellion was soon organized by the pro-independence movement.

The Grito de Lares

The Lares uprising, widely known as the Grito de Lares, took place on September 23, 1868. The term “Grito” symbolised a cry for independence, as seen in other Latin American movements like Brazil’s Grito de Ipiranga, Mexico’s Grito de Dolores, and Cuba’s Grito de Yara. In Puerto Rico, the Revolutionary Committee was formed by Betances and Ruiz Belvis on January 6, 1868, while in exile in the Dominican Republic.
Betances wrote several proclamations calling for insurrection and condemning the exploitation of Puerto Ricans by Spain. One of his key documents, Los Diez Mandamientos de los Hombres Libres (The Ten Commandments of Free Men), was inspired by France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen from the French Revolution. In the same year, poet Lola Rodríguez de Tió wrote patriotic lyrics to La Borinqueña, which later became Puerto Rico’s national anthem. Meanwhile, Eduvigis Beauchamp Sterling created the Revolutionary Flag of Lares, which featured a white Latin cross dividing red and blue sections, with a white star representing liberty and freedom.
Secret cells of the Revolutionary Committee, organised by Mathias Brugman, Mariana Bracetti, and Manuel Rojas, included people from various social classes, mostly criollos (Puerto Rican-born Spaniards). On September 20, Francisco Ramírez Medina and other leaders met to plan the uprising, originally set for September 29 in Camuy. However, the Spanish authorities intercepted the plan and arrested the Camuy cell leaders. Meanwhile, Betances had secured support from the Dominican government, which provided him with a ship and weapons, but the Spanish government prevented the ship from departing and confiscated its cargo. With their plans foiled, the leaders feared arrest and decided to move the rebellion to an earlier date without consulting Betances.
They decided to launch the revolution in Lares on September 23, 1868. Around 400–600 rebels gathered at the hacienda of Rojas on the outskirts of Lares. Led by the latter and Juan de Mata Terreforte, the poorly equipped and untrained rebels reached the town around midnight, where they looted stores and government offices and captured local authorities. The rebels then entered the town church and raised the revolutionary flag of Lares on the High Altar. At 2:00 a.m., they proclaimed the Republic of Puerto Rico, with Ramírez Medina as president. 
On September 24, the rebels marched to San Sebastián del Pepino to seize control but encountered heavy resistance from the Puerto Rican militia, who had moved reinforcements from various towns. Lacking proper weapons, they were forced to retreat to Lares, and the rebellion was swiftly crushed.
Approximately 475 rebels, including key figures like Dr. José Gualberto Padilla, Manuel Rojas, and Mariana Bracetti, were imprisoned and sentenced to death for treason and sedition. However, to ease tensions on the island, the new governor, José Laureano Sanz, issued a general amnesty in early 1869, releasing all prisoners. Many leaders, including Betances and Rojas, were exiled.

Aftermath

Although the Grito de Lares ultimately failed to achieve its immediate objective of independence, the uprising pressured the Spanish government to grant the island more political autonomy, marking the beginning of a shift toward reform. In the years that followed, smaller pro-independence uprisings continued to surface across Puerto Rico, reflecting the persistent desire for freedom.
The leaders of the revolution, though exiled or imprisoned, continued to shape the island’s nationalist movement. Juan de Mata Terreforte, exiled to New York, became a key figure in the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee, which later adopted the Flag of Lares as a symbol of resistance until the current flag, modelled after Cuba’s, was introduced in 1892. While it is not an official holiday, nowadays the uprising is commemorated annually in Lares, where it serves as a symbol of resistance and a reminder of the island’s ongoing struggle for self-determination.