October 29, 2026 · By Tree Clayton
Most people in Tampa know the U.S., Florida and City of Tampa flags. Fewer know that Ybor City has a flag of its own. We have a soft spot for it: Head's Flags started on 7th Avenue in Ybor in 1984, and we still offer the Ybor City flag today.
What the flag looks like
The flag is cut into four triangles that meet in the middle: yellow at the pole, green across the top, red at the fly end and blue along the bottom. A thin white stripe runs from top to bottom through the center, and in the middle sits a white disk with a gold cigar and the words "Ybor City." The cigar is no accident. Ybor was built around cigar factories, founded in 1885 by manufacturers led by Vicente Martinez-Ybor, and it became part of Tampa in 1887.
Where it came from
Surprisingly little is written down. Flags of the World, the main reference for city and regional flags, says there is no record of who designed the Ybor City flag or when, only that it is at least forty years old. The colors are often said to come from the flags of the home countries of the Cuban, Spanish and Italian families who built the neighborhood. If you know more about where the flag came from, we would love to hear it: send us a note.
The Pledge of Affection
The flag comes with its own pledge, a tongue-in-cheek verse in Spanglish credited to Earl Mullen. It asks you to pledge affection to the flag of "Ybor Ciudad," and its best-known lines sum up the neighborhood: "We are españoles, italianos and cubanos / But together we make americanos."
Keeper of the Flag
My great-grandfather, Floyd Head, started Head's Flags in Ybor and was deeply involved in the community there. On January 23, 1994, the Alcalde of the "Commonwealth of Ybor City" appointed him Keeper of the Flag. The certificate, printed with the flag, the pledge and the Ybor seal, says the appointment lasts one hundred years and carries "Responsabilidad, Integridad, Abilidad." We still have it at the shop, and you can see more of Floyd's story on our About page.
Floyd's 1994 certificate, still at the shop.
Floyd's name is also among the many on the Tribute to the Immigrants of Ybor City, the bronze statue in Centennial Park across the street from the Ybor City Museum.
I remember Floyd always had La Gaceta, Tampa's trilingual newspaper, delivered to the shop to read with his coffee.
Visit the Ybor City Museum
A lot of people don't know there is a tiny state park right in the middle of Ybor. The Ybor City Museum State Park sits at 1818 E. Ninth Ave., right across from Centennial Park and the immigrant statue. It is run by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and if the flag has you curious about the neighborhood behind it, this is the place to go. It tells the story of the cigar factories and the Cuban, Spanish and Italian families who worked in them. Check the park's page for hours and admission and the guided tours of La Casita, a restored cigar worker's house, before you go.
Fly one
The Ybor City flag is available from the shop on Henderson Boulevard, for homes, businesses, clubs and anyone who loves the neighborhood. Call (813) 636-0701 or ask for a quote.
Sources: Flags of the World: Tampa, Florida; USF Digital Commons: Pledge of Affection postcard; History of Ybor City; TampaPix: Tribute to Immigrants of Ybor City.