The colors of the official flag

Flag

A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...

 of Cantabria

Cantabria

Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...

 (Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

), which is the symbol of the region, are established in the very text of the Autonomy Statute

Autonomy Statute of Cantabria

The Statute of Autonomy of Cantabria is the basic institutional norm of the autonomous community of Cantabria in Spain. It determines the fields, bodies and institutions of self government of the Cantabrian community....

. Only the characteristics of the coat of arms

Coat of arms of Cantabria

The coat of arms of Cantabria has a rectangular shield, round in base and the field is party en fess. In field azure, a tower or crenellated and masoned, port and windows azure, to its right a ship in natural colours that with its bow has broken a chain going from the tower to the dexter flank of...

 that was to feature in the regional flag were left to specify, which was carried out by a Law of the Regional Assembly, approved on December 22 of 1984. From that moment on, the flag of Cantabria is made up of two horizontal stripes of equal width, white on the top and red on the bottom, and the regional coat of arms in its center. The flag design is heir to the ship registration flag of the maritime province of Santander, assigned by Royal Order of July 30, 1845.

Nowadays, some social and political groups claim the official use of the Cantabrian Lábaro

Lábaro

The Lábaro is a modern interpretation of an ancient military standard of the Cantabri people from pre-Roman Iberum. It consists of a purple cloth on which there is what would be called in heraldry a "saltire voided " made up of curved lines, with knobs at the end of each line.Additionally, and...

 instead of the present flag. Some townships, as is the case of Comillas

Comillas

Comillas is a small township and municipality in the northern reaches of Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. The Marquisate of Comillas, a fiefdom of Spanish nobility, holds ceremonial office in the seat of power at a small castle which overlooks the town.-Marquis of Comillas:The first...

, have already accepted the proposition of the Conceju Nacionalegu Cántabru (Nationalist Cantabrian Council) of using said flag and placing it on the balcony of the Town Hall during the celebration of local and regional festivities
.