Argentine National Anthem
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| Himno Nacional Argentino English: Argentine National Anthem |
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The Flag Memorial in Rosario, Argentina
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| National Anthem of |  Argentina |
| Lyrics | Vicente López y Planes, 1812 |
| Music | Blas Parera, 1812 |
| Adopted | 1813 |
The lyrics of the Himno Nacional Argentino (the national anthem of Argentina) were written by Vicente López y Planes, and the music was composed by Blas Parera. This song was adopted as the national anthem on May 11, 1813, three years after the May Revolution (Revolución de Mayo). May 11 is therefore Anthem Day in Argentina.
On May 24, 1812, Vicente López attended a play presented at the Casa de la Comedia, Buenos Aires, titled El 25 de Mayo, which retold the story of the May Revolution that happened two years earlier. The play, written by Luis Ambrosio Morante, concluded with an anthem sung by the actors. López felt inspired and that same night wrote the first verses of an anthem that would replace Morante's, for which Blas Parera had composed the music.
The General Constituent Assembly, the autonomous government of the time, approved the new anthem as Marcha Patriótica (Patriotic March) on May 11, 1813, and commanded Parera to compose a new music. Some authors say that Parera accepted, but after many days no result was presented. Finally, he refused, being a Spaniard himself, as the lyrics were offensive to Spain, and he feared the reaction of the King. He was jailed by the Assembly and forced to compose under threat of execution. In a single night he finished the partiture, by simply copying the musical score he had composed for the theatre play. He was then released and later he abandoned the country forever, living for many years at Rio de Janeiro and later in Spain, where he died.
The finished song was first played on May 14, 1813 at the home of the aristocrat Mariquita Sánchez de Thompson, and presented publicly on May 25 of the same year. It was then known as Canción Patriótica Nacional (National Patriotic Song), and later simply as Canción Patriótica (Patriotic Song), but in an 1847 copy it appears under the title Himno Nacional Argentino, retaining that name until today.
In the complete version of the Anthem of May (as was christened by López) it is noted that the political vision portrayed is not only Argentinian, but Latin American. The lyrics are burningly independentist and anti-Spanish, as the country was at that time fighting for its independence from Spain. The anthem suffered a modification in 1860, commended to the musician Juan Pablo Esnaola, who arranged a more orchestrated and harmonically richer version of the original music.
Along the 19th century, the Anthem was sung in its entirety. However, once the harsh feelings against Spain had disappeared, and the country had become home to many Spanish immigrants, a modification was introduced by a decree by President Roca on March 30, 1900. The decree read as follows:
"Without producing alterations in the lyrics of the National Anthem, there are in it verses that perfectly describe the concept that nations universally have regarding their anthems in peaceful times, and that harmonize with the serenity and dignity of thousands of Spanish that share our living, those that can and must be preferred to be sung in official parties, for they respect the traditions and the law in no offence to anyone, the President of the Republic decrees that:
In official or public parties, as well as in public schools, shall be sung only the first and last verses and the chorus of the National Song sanctioned by the General Assembly on May 11 1813."
In this way the lyrics which contained vivid attacks against Spain stopped being sung publicly. On August 2, 1924, another executive resolution, inspired in an investigation commanded by the government, sanctioned that the music composed by Parera, with the arrangements added by Esnaola, would constitute the music that would be played with the singing of the anthem in public events, forbidding the musical variations that had taken place until then.
Performance of the anthem is mandatory during all official events, and those in attendance are expected to stand up and sing it. Radio broadcasters voluntarily perform the anthem at midnight, while TV channels do so before closing down their daily broadcast. On national holidays, it is mandatory to perform the anthem at midnight and noon.
The Anthem is ruled in Argentine law by the Decree 10302/1944.[1]
The rock musician Charly García broke a long-standing tradition of "respect" when he included an idiosyncratic cover version of the National Anthem in his 1990 album Filosofía barata y zapatos de goma. In 1998 various Argentinian artists reedited the Anthem and other patriotic songs in the joint album El Grito Sagrado.
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[edit] Modern Version
The following is the modern version, adopted in 1900, without the vivid attacks against Spain.
| Spanish lyrics | English translation |
| Oíd, mortales, el grito sagrado: "¡Libertad, libertad, libertad!" Ya su trono dignísimo abrieron |
Mortals! Hear the sacred cry: "Freedom, freedom, freedom!" The United Provinces of the South |
| Estribillo Sean eternos los laureles |
Chorus May the laurels be eternal |
[edit] Original version
The original version, Marcha Patriótica, is as follows:
| Spanish lyrics | English translation |
| Oíd, mortales, el grito sagrado: Libertad, libertad, libertad. |
Mortals! Hear the sacred scream: Freedom, freedom, freedom! |
| Coro Sean eternos los laureles, |
Chorus May the laurels be eternal, |
| De los nuevos campeones los rostros Marte mismo parece animar |
From the new Champions their faces Mars himself seems to encourage |
| Pero sierras y muros se sienten retumbar con horrible fragor: |
Mountain ranges and walls are felt to resound with horrible din: |
| ¿No los véis sobre México y Quito arrojarse con saña tenaz |
Don't you see them over Mexico and Quito throwing themselves with tenacious viciousness? |
| A vosotros se atreve, argentinos, el orgullo del vil invasor; |
To you it dares, Argentinians, the pride of the vile invader; |
| El valiente argentino a las armas corre ardiendo con brío y valor, |
The valiant Argentinian to arms runs burning with determination and bravery, |
| San José, San Lorenzo, Suipacha, ambas Piedras, Salta y Tucumán, |
San José, San Lorenzo, Suipacha, both Piedras, Salta and Tucumán, |
| La victoria al guerrero argentino con sus alas brillante cubrió, |
Victory to the Argentine warrior covered with its brilliant wings, |
| Desde un polo hasta el otro resuena de la fama el sonoro clarín, |
From one pole to the other resounds the fame of the sonorous bugler, |
| Sean eternos los laureles que supimos conseguir. |
May the laurels be eternal, that we knew how to win. |
[edit] Short instrumental version
Due to the excessive length of the official version, in international events such as the Olympic Games and football (soccer) games, only the instrumental introduction (which lasts 1 minute 6 seconds) is played. Although traditional, this arrangement is not recognized by Argentine law.
[edit] Recordings
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Complete Instrumental Recording by the United States Navy Band Short Instrumental Recording by the United States Navy Band - Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] Notes
- ^ InfoLeg - Información Legislativa. Ministerio de Economía y Producción. Retrieved on 2006-06-26.
[edit] External links
- Argentine National Anthem MP3
- Argentine National Anthem MP3
- Argentine National Anthem MP3
- Argentine National Anthem english subtitled onYouTube.
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