Nuestro Himno
The Latin/Rap music publisher Urban Box Office is releasing a Spanish version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Monday, to coincide with the immigrants-rights demonstrations planned for May Day.
You’ve probably heard news reports about it, but none of them played the whole thing. UBO is streaming it from their main web page, so you can listen to it all, if you like.
I think it’s pretty great, actually:
[Spanish Lyrics and English Translation from Wikipedia]
Spanish:
Amanece - ¿lo veis, a la luz de la aurora?
Lo que tanto aclamamos la noche al caer;
Sus estrellas sus franjas flotaban ayer,
En el fiero combate, en señal de victoria,
Fulgor de lucha, al paso de la libertad,
Por la noche decían: “¡Se va defendiendo!”
¡Oh decid! ¿Despliega aún su hermosura estrellada,
Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada?
Sus estrellas, sus franjas, la libertad, somos iguales
Somos hermanos, es nuestro himno.
En el fiero combate, en señal de victoria,
Fulgor de lucha… (Mi gente, ¡sigue luchando!)
…al paso de la libertad (¡Ya es tiempo de romper las cadenas!)
Por la noche decían: “¡Se va defendiendo!”
¡Oh decid! ¿Despliega aún su hermosura estrellada,
Sobre tierra de libres, la bandera sagrada?
English translation:
(It should be noted that just like any translation, the Spanish lyrics of Nuestro Himno cannot be translated literally, word for word. For example, the Spanish word “libertad” means both “freedom” and “liberty”. Because of this, this translation can never be exact, and will always be subject to differing interpretations.)
Do you see arising, by the light of the dawn,
That which we hailed so much when the night fell?
Its stars, its stripes yesterday streamed
In the fierce combat, as a sign of victory,
The brilliance of battle, in step with freedom,
Throughout the night they proclaimed: “It will be defended!”
Oh say you! Is it still waving, beautiful, star-covered,
Over the land of the free, the sacred flag?
Its stars, its stripes, liberty, we are the same.
We are brothers, it is our anthem.
In the fierce combat, as a sign of victory,
In the fierce combat… (My people, keep fighting!)
…in step with freedom, (Now is the time to break the chains!)
Throughout the night they proclaimed: “It is defending itself!”
Oh say you! Is it still waving, beautiful, star-covered,
Over the land of the free, the sacred flag?
All of the usual suspects, their lives driven by fear and hatred, have rushed forward to condemn it; to me, it’s beautiful, and it couldn’t be more respectful of the original material.
And how can you condemn a song of patriotism towards the United States, just because it’s written in Spanish?
The Pretender-In-Chief, who had made sure to cozy up to the Latino vote right up through the first few days of November, 2004, has made doubly sure to make his disapproving “Decider” decision known: “I think people who want to be a citizen [sic] of this country ought to learn English. And they ought to learn to sing the anthem in English.”
Well, damn him, and his myrmidons, too — and may their condemnation work as well for them, and for the Republican Party in general, as Proposition 187 did for Pete Wilson. (”Who?”)
Listen to “Nuestro Himno” at UBO’s web site (click here, then wait for the song).
Read the full Wikipedia entry here.
Chris Gibson wrote:
How indeed!?
Say, check out this site:
http://david.national-anthems.net/fr.htm
Next time you visit HQ, I say you should use the handy English translation of “La Marseillaise” and burst into song at the next company meeting. Being enlightened nationalists over there, I’m sure the French will embrace the anglicized version of their national anthem with the open-armed enthusiasm we so totally lack over here.
Posted 01 May 2006 at 5:18 am ¶
Tom Chappell wrote:
Absolutely, that’s why they’re known as “The Great Melting Pot” — they’ve even got a little Statue of Liberty, just like ours!
Posted 01 May 2006 at 7:03 am ¶
Chris Gibson wrote:
While I’m not surprised to find myself a bit to the right of you in many things, in this case I fear we are standing on opposite sides of the bridge - or the river, as the case may be.
Does opposing sarcasm risk flashing the universe into oblivion if it’s an exact inverse match? I’ll have to take that risk….
You have it backwards, my friend: WE, the United States, are the Great Melting Pot, not the French. But a Melting Pot implies - nay, expressly states - that the result tends toward a homogenous mix, comprised of the ingredients that went in. For much of our history since we began accepting “huddled masses” from various “teeming shores,” the result has been an eventual blending of cultures, resulting in a new mix that was stronger than before.
What we’re facing today - and which Nuestro Himno” reflects - is an increasingly heterogeneous culture. My wife is half-Hispanic, and hails from El Paso, Texas, where today few private or public employers hire anyone who cannot speak Spanish. Here in Austin, virtually everything from the restaurant menus to the grocery shelves are bilingual. This is not a Melting Pot; it’s a cultural divide.
I do not think that Nuestro Himno reflects a lack of respect toward the United States, but I do believe it reflects the firm belief and support of a separate culture coming into being. This is being driven by many factors: massive illegal immigration; rampant political correctness requiring absolute deference to all cultures that came to this land since (and including) the American Indians; huge and increasing economic imbalances between the haves and the have-not’s; and more (OK, I’m wimping out on add’l enumeration to avoid even more points of argument).
So, on the one hand, I do agree with you that Nuestro Himno does not deserve our condemnation, but it also does not deserve to be embraced unless you realize you are embracing the invasion of a new culture that is determined to become increasingly separate from, and eventually dominant to, the heterogeneous goal that has so long been part and parcel of our legal immigration policy.
Posted 01 May 2006 at 3:40 pm ¶