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1825–1903 · Añasco is sometimes debated · Patriot • Independence Movement

Known as the "Brazo de Oro" (Golden Arm), Mariana Bracetti is credited with knitting the revolutionary flag used during the Grito de Lares uprising in 1868.

Although born in Añasco is sometimes debated, she is closely associated with the municipality and remains one of Puerto Rico's most celebrated patriots.

The flag was considered a symbol of revolution and a call to overthrow the Spanish government on the island and establish a sovereign republic. On September 23, 1868, the flag was flown on the Lares church during a revolt, later known as the Grito de Lares. The flag was designed by Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances. Many years later, in 1952, the flag's design was adopted as the official flag of Lares. The flag was divided in the middle by a white cross. The two lower corners were red and the two upper corners were blue. There was a white star in the upper left blue corner. Mariana Bracetti died in Añasco in 1903 and was buried in the Plaza of Añasco. There is a monument honoring her on the spot where she is buried.