CUSCO FLAG VS PRIDE FLAG

At first glance, the LGBT+ community flag and the one representing the Incas may seem identical. However, while they have similar origins, they signify different things.
Both the LGBT+ flag and the one used in Peru to represent the Incas are composed of horizontal stripes with the colors of the rainbow.
The Inca flag is also known as the Cusco flag, because the municipality of that Peruvian city adopted it as its symbol. However, its resemblance to the LGBT+ community flag has generated amusing confusions.
For example: in 2017, a homophobic Chilean pastor named Javier Soto wanted to step on the LGBT+ flag. However, he got confused and actually vandalized a Cusco flag. Later, in 2019, a group of actors got confused and during the reenactment of a historical battle, they carried the LGBT+ flag instead of the Inca flag. And in June 2020, the Argentine municipality of Córdoba wanted to raise an LGBT+ flag to commemorate Pride Month, but ended up putting up a Cusco flag.
We’re aware of the confusion that these similarities cause in many visitors that decide to tour around in Cusco with aims of visiting one of the modern world wonders.

Why are the LGBT+ flag and the flag representing the Incas so similar?
The explanation is that both flags have a common origin. Both were conceived by their respective creators as a representation of the rainbow. However, their meanings are different.
In fact, a keen observer should not confuse these flags. The Inca flag has 7 colored stripes. This is because each color represents one of the 7 chakras of the human body.
Unlike the Incas, the LGBT+ flag has 6 stripes. Originally, its creator, Gilbert Baker, designed it with 8 colors. These symbolized sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, art, harmony, and spirit. However, to simplify it, a consensus was reached to use only 6 colors.

Who copied whom?
In reality, there is no evidence that either of the two flags was inspired by the other. Their creators simply had similar ideas.
Now, if the question is which flag came first, the Inca or the LGBT+ one, the answer is the Inca flag. But not as long ago as one might think.
In fact, the pre-Hispanic Incas did not use the 8-stripe flag as a symbol. In fact, it wasn’t until 1973 that the flag emerged to represent Inca culture. Its creators are the owners of Radio Tawantinsuyo, a Peruvian folk music radio station.
That year, on the occasion of the radio station’s 25th anniversary, its owners designed the rainbow flag to represent their Inca ancestors. Later, in 1978, the municipality of the City of Cusco adopted this symbol as its own, which still flies in its historic places.
Interestingly, the first LGBT+ flag saw the light in the same year that Cusco adopted the one designed by the radio station to honor the Incas. Gilbert Baker, a former military man, artist and gay activist residing in San Francisco, created it to symbolize the political movement led by Harvey Milk.

Now that you know the differences between the LGBT+ flag and the Inca flag, you have no excuse to get them mixed up.
This Cusco flag vs pride flag comparison aims to attenuate the confusion that these symbols produce in foreign visitors that visit the region that was once the capital of the Inca empire.
While this may be a funny concidence, understanding the difference between both may avoid you an awkward time while visiting Cusco.
If you’re interested in visiting Cusco, contact us today and we’ll reach you out to give you the best information and tourism services in the region.
