Himno Nacional Mexicano

The "Mexican National Anthem",Template:Efn also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the Cry of War",Template:Efn is the official national anthem of the United Mexican States. Its lyrics, composed by poet Francisco González Bocanegra after a Federal contest in 1853, allude to historical Mexican victories in battle and cries of defending the homeland. In 1854, Jaime Nunó composed the music to the lyrics after a request from González. The national anthem, consisting of ten stanzas and a chorus, effectively entered into use on September 16, 1854.

Composition

Lyrics competition

File:Francisco González Bocanegra.jpg

Francisco González Bocanegra, author of the lyrics

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. 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. 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 in which he was temporarily imprisoned 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 all ten verses of his creation under the door. After Francisco received approval from his fiancée and her father, he submitted the poem and won the competition by unanimous vote.<ref>David Kendall National Anthems—Mexico Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> González was announced the winner in the publication Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) on February 3, 1854.

Music competition

File:Jaime Nunó.jpg

Jaime Nunó, composer of the music

A musical composition was chosen at the same time as the lyrics. The winner was Juan Bottesini, but his entry was disliked due to aesthetics. This rejection caused a second national contest to find music for the lyrics.<ref name="bottesini">Embassy of Mexico in Serbia and Montenegro Mexican Symbols—Himo. Retrieved March 19, 2006. Template:Webarchive</ref> At the end of the second contest, the music that was chosen for González's lyrics was composed by Jaime Nunó, the then Catalonian-born King of Spain's band leader. At the time of the second 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. Nunó's anthem music composition was made like masterpieces of classical music, with a high quality in composition, and was chosen. 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.<ref name="himnokids">Template:Cite web</ref> The song was officially adopted as the Mexican national anthem on Independence Day, September 16 of that same year. The inaugural performance was directed by Juan Bottesini, sung by soprano Claudia Florenti and tenor Lorenzo Salvi at the Santa Anna Theatre.<ref name="bottesini"/><ref>Secretary of External Relations History of the Mexican Anthem. Retrieved March 15, 2006. Template:In lang</ref>

Lyrics

Current lyrics

Since 1943, the full national anthem officially consists of the chorus and the first, fifth, sixth, and tenth stanzas (with the chorus interspersed between each stanza and performed again at the end). The modification of the lyrics was ordered by President Manuel Ávila Camacho in a decree printed in the Diario Oficial de la Federación.<ref>Administration of Ernesto Zedillo National Symbols of Mexico Template:Webarchive. Retrieved March 15, 2006.</ref>

When the national anthem is played at sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup, an abridged form (chorus, stanza I, chorus) is used. An unofficial semi-abridged form (chorus, stanza I, chorus, stanza X, chorus) has gained some acceptance in television and radio programming.

Spanish original<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	IPA transcriptionTemplate:Efn	English translation
<poem>Template:Lang Template:Yesitalic</poem>	<poem>Template:IPA Template:Small</poem>	<poem>Template:Small Mexicans, at the cry of war, assemble the steel and the bridle, 𝄆 and may the Earth tremble to its core to the resounding roar of the cannon. 𝄇 Encircle, O Fatherland!, thy temples with olives peace by the divine archangel, for in heaven thine eternal destiny by the finger of God it was written. If, however, a foreign foe would dare to profane Thy ground with their sole, think, O beloved Fatherland!, that Heaven 𝄆 hath given a soldier in every son. 𝄇 War, war! with no mercy to any who shall try to tarnish the coats of arms of the Fatherland! War, war! The national banners Shall be drenched in the waves of blood. War, war! On the mountain, in the valley, The cannons thunder in horrid unison and the sonorous echoes resound 𝄆 with bellows of Union! Liberty! 𝄇 O Fatherland, if however thy children, defenseless With their necks bent beneath the yoke, May thy fields be watered with blood, May their footsteps be printed with blood. And thy temples, palaces and towers Shall collapse with horrid clamor, And thy ruins continue on, whispering: 𝄆 Of one thousand heroes, the Fatherland once was. 𝄇 Fatherland! Fatherland! Thy children assure to breathe until their last for thy sake, if the bugle with its bellicose accent calleth them together to battle with courage. For thee, the olive wreaths! For them, a reminder of glory! For thee, a laurel of victory! 𝄆 For them, a tomb of honor! 𝄇 Template:Small</poem>

Original lyrics

The following is the original and complete version of the anthem as it became known in 1853.

Spanish original<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

English translation

<poem>Template:Lang Template:Yesitalic</poem>

<poem>Template:Small Mexicans, at the cry of war, assemble the steel and the bridle, 𝄆 and may the Earth tremble to its core to the resounding roar of the cannon. 𝄇 Encircle, O Fatherland!, thy temples with olives the divine archangel of Peace, for in heaven thine eternal destiny was written by the finger of God. If, however, a foreign foe would dare to profane Thy ground with their sole, think, O beloved Fatherland!, that Heaven 𝄆 hath given a soldier in every son. 𝄇 In bloody battles thou sawest them, their chests palpitating for thy love, face the shrapnel calm, and seek death or glory. If the memory of ancient deeds of thy children inflameth the mind, the laurels of triumph, thy forehead 𝄆 they will return immortal to adorn. 𝄇 Like the holm oak struck by lightning, to the deep torrent collapseth discord, defeated, impotent, it fell to the feet of the archangel. No more, the blood of thy children, spilleth in fight of brothers; just find the steel in his hands 𝄆 whoever insulted thy sacred name. 𝄇 Of the immortal warrior of Zempoala the terrible sword defendeth thee, and its invincible arm upholdeth thy sacred tricolor banner. He will be, of the happy Mexican, the caudillo in peace and in war. because he knew how, his guns of brilliance, 𝄆 to surround in the fields of honor. 𝄇 War, war! with no mercy to any who shall try to tarnish the coats of arms of the Fatherland! War, war! The national banners Shall be drenched in the waves of blood. War, war! On the mountain, in the valley, The cannons thunder in horrid unison and the sonorous echoes resound 𝄆 with bellows of Union! Liberty! 𝄇 O Fatherland, if however thy children, defenseless With their necks bent beneath the yoke, May thy fields be watered with blood, May their footsteps be printed with blood. And thy temples, palaces and towers Shall collapse with horrid clamor, And thy ruins continue on, whispering: 𝄆 Of one thousand heroes, the Fatherland once was. 𝄇 If to the fight against enemy host, the war horn summoneth us, the sacred flag of Iturbide, Mexicans! brave, keep going. And to the fierce bridoons, let serve them the defeated ensigns as a carpet; the laurels of triumph give shade 𝄆 to the forehead of the brave commander. 𝄇 To the patriotic homes returneth proud the warrior to sing his victory, showing off the palms of glory that he knew how to conquer in the fight. Their bloody laurels will turn into garlands of myrtles and roses, since the love of daughters and wives 𝄆 also knoweth how to reward the brave. 𝄇 And he who, to the blow of burning shrapnel, succumbeth in the altars of the fatherland, will obtain in reward a tomb where the light of glory shineth. And, of Iguala, the dear ensign linked to his bloody sword, crowned with an immortal laurel, 𝄆 will form the cross from his grave. 𝄇 Fatherland! Fatherland! Thy children assure to breathe until their last for thy sake, if the bugle with its bellicose accent calleth them together to battle with courage. For thee, the olive wreaths! For them, a reminder of glory! For thee, a laurel of victory! 𝄆 For them, a tomb of honor! 𝄇 Template:Small</poem>

Copyright status

An urban legend about the copyright status of the anthem states that years after its first performance, Nunó's family sold the musical rights to a German music publishing company named Wagner House. Originally, Nunó was supposed to have turned the music rights over to the state in exchange for a prize from the Mexican government. However, according to the myth, the copyright changed hands again, this time to Nunó himself and two Americans, Harry Henneman and Phil Hill.<ref>LA Weekly DON'T CRY FOR ME, MEXICO; Article about the copyright situation. September 22, 1999.</ref>

In reality, this is not correct. It is true that Nunó, Henneman and Hill did register the music with the company BMI (BMI Work #568879), with the Edward B. Marks Music Company as the listed publisher of the anthem.<ref>BMI Repretoire Himno Nacional Mexicano (BMI Work #568879). Retrieved March 16, 2006.</ref> This might be the version that some have suggested is copyrighted in the United States.<ref name="sdut">San Diego Union Tribune Mexicans celebrate 150 years of national anthem with worldwide sing-along Template:Webarchive September 15, 2004. Retrieved March 15, 2006.</ref> However, United States copyright law declares the Mexican anthem to be in the public domain inside the United States, since both the lyrics and music were published before 1923.<ref>US Copyright Office Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States. Retrieved March 16, 2006. Template:Webarchive</ref> Furthermore, under Mexican copyright law, Article 155 states that the government holds moral rights, but not property rights, to symbols of the state, such as the national anthem, coat of arms and the national flag.<ref>Secretary of Education Mexican Copyright Law. Retrieved March 15, 2006 Template:In lang Template:Webarchive</ref>

National regulations

In the second chapter of the Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem (Template:Lang), the 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 (Template:Lang).<ref name='law'>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 (Template:Lang) and the diplomatic official from the nation in question. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Public Education (Template:Lang), 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 radio or television. Article 41 states that the national anthem is required to be played at the sign-on or sign-off of radio and television programming; with the advent of 24-hour programming schedules in the 1990s and 2000s, many stations now do so at or as close to midnight and 6 a.m. local time as possible by interpretation of the former traditional times of sign-on and sign-off. The extra requirement for television programming 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 (Template:Lang) will be asked to sing the national anthem each year. Article 47 states that in an official ceremony in which is need to play another anthem, the Mexican anthem will be played first, then the guest state's national 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 (Template:Lang), 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.<ref name="law"/>

Cultural significance

File:MexicanFansAnthem.jpg

Mexican fans sing the Mexican national anthem before a football match in March 2009.

At the time the Mexican national anthem was written, Mexico was still facing the effects of a bitter defeat in the Mexican–American War at the hands of the United States. The country felt demoralized and also divided, due to the cession of more than half of its territory due to its defeat to the United States. According to historian Javier Garciadiego, who spoke at a 2004 ceremony commemorating the 150th anniversary of the national anthem's adoption, the song disregards divisions and strife and encourages national unity. On that same date, Mexico City and other parts of the country stopped what they were doing and performed a nationwide singing of the national anthem. Individuals from other countries also participated, mostly at diplomatic offices or at locations where a high concentration of Mexican expatriates are found. The national anthem has also been described as one of the symbols of the "Mexican identity".<ref name="sdut" />

On the rare occasions when someone performs the national anthem incorrectly, the federal government has been known to impose penalties to maintain the "dignity" of the national symbols. One example is when a performer forgot some of the lyrics at an association football match in Guadalajara, she was fined $400 MXN by the Interior Ministry and released an apology letter to the country through the Interior Ministry.<ref>Associated Press Template:Cite web. October 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2006.</ref> Another infamous case is that of banda musician Julio Preciado, who performed the national anthem at the inauguration of the Caribbean Baseball Series in 2009; El Universal reported that "in a slow tone that has nothing to do with the rhythm of the National Anthem, the singer literally forgot the lyrics of the second stanza and mixed it with others",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> this earned the fanfare of those who were present at the stadium (and those watching it live on TV), some of the people attending the inauguration started shouting the phrases "¡sáquenlo!, ¡no se lo sabe! ¡fuera, fuera!" (Get him out! He doesn't know it! Out, out!).

In addition, the national anthem is sometimes used as a kind of shibboleth: a tool against people who might not be "true Mexicans" (as opposed to migrants from another Latin American country who pretend that they are from Mexico). The suspected are asked to sing Mexico's national anthem and it is widely expected that only "true Mexicans" will know the lyrics and tune and thus will be able to sing it. In one case, a young man of Afro-Mexican descent was stopped by police and forced to sing the national anthem to prove his nationality.<ref name="blackmx">College Street Journal FP Antonieta Gimeno Attends Conference on Black Mexicans Template:Webarchive. Retrieved March 20, 2006.</ref> In a separate incident in Japan, police officers asked four people to sing the Mexican national anthem after they were arrested in Tokyo on charges of breaking and entering. However, when they could not sing the song, it was discovered that they were Colombians holding forged Mexican passports. They were later charged with more counts on theft of merchandise and money.<ref>ABC News Online Japanese police catch Colombian thieves out. June 15, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2006.</ref>

Template:AnchorThe verse Template:Lang ('If, however, a foreign enemy would dare') uses Template:Lang and Template:Lang, which are archaic poetic forms. Modern prose speakers would use Template:Lang. Thus, the verse has sometimes been misunderstood as Template:Lang ('Masiosare, a strange enemy') with Template:Lang, an otherwise unused word, as the name of the enemy. "Masiosare" has been used in Mexico as a first name for real and fictional people and as a common name (Template:Lang or the homophone Template:Lang) for the anthem itself or for a threat against the country.<ref name="Koźmiński">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In other languages

Though the de facto language of Mexico is Spanish, there are still people who only speak indigenous languages. On December 8, 2005, Article 39 of the national symbols law was adopted to allow for the translation of the lyrics into the native languages. The official translation is performed by the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (Template:Lang).<ref>Diario Oficial de la Federación—Decree allowing for translation of the anthem into native languages. December 7, 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2006.</ref>

Officially, the national anthem has been translated into the following native languages: Chinanteco, Hña Hñu, Mixtec, Maya, Nahuatl and Tenek. Other native groups have translated the anthem into their respective language, but it has not been sanctioned by the Government.<ref>Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas Himno Nacional Mexicano en lenguas indígenas</ref>

Nahuatl translation<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed
<poem>Template:Lang</poem>

Musical score

• Second page of music and lyrics
  Second page of music and lyrics

External links

• President of Mexico's page about the anthem, with two recordings Template:In lang
• Template:Cantorion
• Descargas de Videos y audios