Himno Nacional Mexicano

This article is on the National Anthem of Mexico. For the film, see Mexicanos, al grito de guerra (1943 film).

CD cover of a set of anthem recordings

The song Mexicanos, al grito de guerra (English: Mexicans, at the cry of war) is the unofficial title of the national anthem of Mexico (Spanish: Himno Nacional Mexicano) and also the first line of its chorus. The song's lyrics, which allude to Mexican victories in the heat of battle and cries of defending the homeland, were composed by poet Francisco González Bocanegra in 1853, while his fiancée had locked him into a room. In 1854, Jaime Nunó arranged the music to be played with González's poem. The anthem, which consists of ten stanzas and a chorus, was used beginning on September 16, 1854, but it was not officially declared the national anthem until 1943. During this period, the lyrics underwent several modifications due to political changes in Mexico. The copyright status of the anthem is unclear; the copyright was not relinquished to the Mexican government, and has changed hands at least twice.

Lyrics competition

File:Francisco Gonzalez Bocanegra.jpg

Francisco González Bocanegra

On November 12, 1853, President Antonio López de Santa Anna announced a competition to write a national anthem for Mexico. The competition offered a prize for the best poetic composition representing patriotic ideals. A deadline of twenty days was set. Francisco González Bocanegra, a talented poet, was not interested in participating in the competition. He argued that writing love poems involved very different skills from the ones required to write a national anthem. His fiancée, Guadalupe González del Pino (or Pili), had undaunted faith in her fiancé's poetic skills and was displeased with his constant refusal to participate in spite of her constant prodding and requests from their friends. Finally she decided to take matters into her own hands. Under false pretenses, she lured him to a secluded bedroom in her parents' house, locked him into the room, and refused to let him out until he produced an entry for the competition. Inside the room where González was temporarily imprisoned, there were pictures depicting various events in Mexican history, which helped to inspire his work. After four hours of fluent (albeit forced) inspiration, Francisco regained his freedom by slipping his creation, which was ten verses long, under the door. After Francisco received approval from his fiancée and her father, he submitted the poem, which won the competition by unanimous vote. [3] González was announced the winner in the publication "Official Journal of the Federation" (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on February 3, 1854.

Music competition

After the lyrics were chosen, the anthem needed music to be complete. The music chosen for González's lyrics was composed by Jaime Nunó, a Spanish-born band leader. At the time of the anthem competition, Nunó was the leader of several Mexican military bands. He had been invited to direct these bands by President Santa Anna, whom he had met in Cuba. About the time that Nunó first came to Mexico to start performing with the bands, Santa Anna was making his announcement about creating a national anthem for Mexico. Out of the few musical compositions submitted, Nunó's music, titled "God and Freedom" (Dios y libertad), was chosen as the winner on August 12, 1854. The anthem was officially adopted on Independence Day, September 16 of that same year. The inaugural interpretation was directed by Jaime Nunó himself, sung by soprano Balbina Steffenone and tenor Lorenzo Salvi. Francisco González Bocanegra and Pili, now married, also attended the event.

Copyright concerns

Years after the event, Nunó's family sold the anthem's musical rights to Wagner House, a German music publishing company. Nunó was supposed to have turned the music rights over to the state in exchange for a prize from the Mexican government. Strangely, the copyright changed hands again, this time to Nunó himself and two Americans, Harry Henneman and Phil Hill. Though the Mexican government tried to rectify the situation in 1945 by declaring the anthem to be part of the "sovereign patrimony" of Mexico, the copyright situation has not yet been resolved. ^[1]

Modifications

After the country's defeat in the Mexican American War, there were some modifications made to the verses. Stanzas IV and VII were banned because Stanza IV referred to Antonio López de Santa Anna, widely blamed for the defeat, and Stanza VII referred to the first Mexican Emperor, Agustín de Iturbide, who was sent into exile and immediately executed after returning to Mexico.

The anthem was written during a period of conservative rule; when the liberal party returned to government, they implemented the changes mentioned above. A second, possible, change to the lyrics took place with the adoption of the Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem (Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacionales) in 1984. This change was the last time that the anthem was modified in any form.

Regulations

In the second chapter of the Law regarding the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem (Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacionales), Mexico's national anthem is described in very brief terms. While Articles 2 and 3 discuss in detail the coat of arms and the flag, respectively, Article 4 mentions only that the national anthem will be designated by law. Article 4 also mentions that a copy of the lyrics and the musical notation will be kept at two locations, the General National Archive and at the National Library, located in the National Museum of History (Biblioteca Nacional en el Museo Nacional de Historia).

Chapter 5 of the Law goes into more detail about how to honor, respect and properly perform the national anthem. Article 38 states that the singing, playing, reproduction and circulation of the national anthem are regulated by law and that any interpretation of the anthem must be performed in a "respectful way and in a scope that allows [one] to observe the due solemnity" of the anthem. Article 39 prohibits the anthem from being altered in any fashion, prohibits it from being sung for commercial or promotional purposes, and also disallows the singing or playing of national anthems from other nations, unless you have permission from the Secretary of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación) and the diplomatic official from the nation in question. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Public Education (Secretaría de Educación Publica), in Article 40, must grant permission for all reproductions of the national anthem to be produced, unless the anthem is being played during official ceremonies carried on the radio or television. Article 41 states that the national anthem is required to be played at the beginning or end of radio and television programing. The extra requirement for television programing is that photos of the Mexican flag must be displayed at the same time the anthem is playing. Article 42 states that the anthem may only be used during the following occasions: solemn acts of official, civic, cultural, scholastic or sport character. The anthem can also be played to render honors to the Mexican flag and to the President of Mexico. If the national anthem is being used to honor the national flag or the President, the short version of the anthem is played. Article 43 says that special musical honors may be paid to the President and the flag, but no more than once during the same ceremony.

Article 44 says that during solemn occasions, if a choir is singing the anthem, the military bands will keep silent. Article 45 says that those who are watching the national anthem performance must stand at attention (firmes) and remove any headgear. Article 46 states that the national anthem must be taught to children who are attending primary or secondary school; this article was amended in 2005 to add pre-school to the list. The article also states that each school in the National Education System (Sistema Educativo Nacional) will be asked to sing the national anthem each year. Article 47 states that during an official welcoming ceremony for a head of state, the guest's anthem will be played first, then the Mexican anthem. Article 48 states that at embassies and consulates of Mexico, the national anthem is played at ceremonies of a solemn nature that involves the Mexican people. If the anthem is played outside of Mexico, Article 48 requires that the Secretary of External Relations (Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores), through proper channels, must grant permission for the national anthem to be played and will also ensure that the anthem is not sung for commercial purposes.

Lyrics

Officially, the full national anthem consists of the chorus, 1st stanza, 5th stanza, 6th stanza and 10th stanza. While an official short version, consisting of the chorus, 1st stanza and the chorus, is played during sporting events such as the Olympic Games, television stations have sometimes played a modified national anthem consisting of the chorus, 1st stanza, chorus, 10th stanza and chorus.

Notes: The official lyrics are in Spanish, but as of December 9, 2005, the Mexican Government has allowed for various native peoples of Mexico to translate the lyrics into their native languages. The translation will be performed by the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas). ^[2] The word "Patria" in the Spanish language is the feminine form of the English term for the homeland (Motherland/Fatherland).

National Anthem of Mexico (Official version)

Coro

Mexicanos, al grito de guerra
el acero aprestad y el bridón.
Y retiemble en sus centros la tierra,
al sonoro rugir del cañón.
¡Y retiemble en sus centros la tierra,
al sonoro rugir de el cañón!

Chorus

Mexicans, at the cry of war,
Prepare the steel and the bridle,
And let the earth centers tremble
To the roar of the cannon.
And let the earth centers tremble
To the roar of the cannon!

Estrofa I

Ciña ¡oh Patria! tus sienes de oliva
de la paz el arcángel divino,
que en el cielo tu eterno destino
por el dedo de Dios se escribió.
Mas si osare un extraño enemigo
profanar con su planta tu suelo,
piensa ¡oh Patria querida! que el cielo
un soldado en cada hijo te dio.

First Stanza

Wreathed be, oh Fatherland, your brow with olive leaves
of peace by the divine archangel
For in heaven, your eternal destiny
has been written by the finger of God.
But should a foreign enemy dare
To profane your soil with his step,
Think, oh beloved Fatherland! that heaven
Gave you a soldier in every son.

Estrofa V

¡Guerra, guerra sin tregua al que intente
De la patria manchar los blasones!
¡Guerra, guerra! Los patrios pendones
En las olas de sangre empapad.
¡Guerra, guerra! En el monte, en el valle
Los cañones horrísonos truenen,
Y los ecos sonoros resuenen
Con las voces de ¡Unión! ¡Libertad!

Stanza V

War, war without truce upon him who tries
To sully the blazon of the Fatherland;
War, war! Soak the homeland's flags
In waves of blood.
War, war! In the hill and the valley,
The dreadful cannons thunder,
And the deafening echoes resound
The cries of Union! Liberty!

Estrofa VI

Antes, patria, que inermes tus hijos
Bajo el yugo su cuello dobleguen,
Tus campiñas con sangre se rieguen,
Sobre sangre se estampe su pie.
Y tus templos, palacios y torres
Se derrumben con hórrido estruendo,
Y sus ruinas existan diciendo:
De mil héroes la patria aquí fue.

Stanza VI

Oh Fatherland, before your unarmed sons
Bend their necks under the yoke,
Your countryside be watered with blood
And in blood may they stamp their feet.
And your temples, palaces, and towers
Fall with terrible thunder,
And their ruins exist to say,
"This was the Fatherland of a thousand heroes."

Estrofa X

¡Patria! ¡Patria! Tus hijos te juran
Exhalar en tus aras su aliento,
Si el clarín con su bélico acento
nos convoca a lidiar con valor.
¡Para ti las guirnaldas de oliva!
¡Un recuerdo para ellos de gloria!
¡Un laurel para ti de victoria!
¡Un sepulcro para ellos de honor!

Stanza X

Fatherland, Fatherland! Your sons pledge to you
To breathe out, in your honor, their breath,
If the buggle with its warlike tone
Calls us to struggle with valour.
For you the garlands of olive!
For them a memory of glory!
For you a laurel of victory!
For them a tomb of honour!

Recordings

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Sheet music

First page of music and lyrics
Second page of music and lyrics

References

^ LA Weekly article on the copyright situation [1]
^ 2005 Decree allowing for translation of the anthem into native languages [2] Retrieved January 11, 2006

External links

[1] LA Weekly article on the copyright situation [1]

[2] 2005 Decree allowing for translation of the anthem into native languages [2] Retrieved January 11, 2006

[1]

[2]