Himno Nacional Mexicano
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The "Mexican National Anthem" ( es, Himno Nacional Mexicano, nah, Mexihcaletepetlacuicalt), also known by its
incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...
"Mexicans, at the cry of war" ( es, Mexicanos, al grito de guerra), is the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The anthem was first used in 1854. The lyrics of the national anthem, which allude to historical Mexican military victories in the heat of battle and including cries of defending the homeland, were composed by poet
Francisco González Bocanegra Francisco González Bocanegra (January 8, 1824 – April 11, 1861) was a Mexican poet who wrote the lyrics of the Mexican National Anthem in 1853. He was born in San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí to Spanish soldier José María González Yáñ ...
after a Federal contest in 1853. Later, in 1854, he asked
Jaime Nunó Jaime Nunó Roca (September 8, 1824 – July 18, 1908) was a Spanish composer from Catalonia who composed the music for the Mexican national anthem. Early life and education Nunó was born on September 8, 1824 in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, a ...
to compose the music that now accompanies González's poem. The national anthem, consisting of ten
stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...
s and a chorus, effectively entered into use on September 16, 1854.


Composition


Lyrics competition

On November 12, 1853,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...
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 Francisco González Bocanegra (January 8, 1824 – April 11, 1861) was a Mexican poet who wrote the lyrics of the Mexican National Anthem in 1853. He was born in San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí to Spanish soldier José María González Yáñ ...
, 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 The written history of Mexico spans more than three millennia. First populated more than 13,000 years ago, central and southern Mexico (termed Mesoamerica) saw the rise and fall of complex indigenous civilizations. Mexico would later develop i ...
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. González was announced the winner in the publication
Official Journal of the Federation The (DOF; translated variously as the ''Official Journal of the Federation'' or else as ''Official Gazette of the Federation''), published daily by the government of Mexico, is the main official government publication in Mexico. It was founde ...
(DOF) on February 3, 1854.


Music competition

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.Embassy of Mexico in
Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
br>Mexican Symbols—Himo
Retrieved March 19, 2006.
At the end of the second contest, the music that was chosen for González's lyrics was composed by
Jaime Nunó Jaime Nunó Roca (September 8, 1824 – July 18, 1908) was a Spanish composer from Catalonia who composed the music for the Mexican national anthem. Early life and education Nunó was born on September 8, 1824 in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, a ...
, the then Catalonian-born
King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
'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 Santa Anna may refer to: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...
, whom he had met in
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. 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 Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, 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. 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 A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Claudia Florenti Claudia Florenti was an Italian opera singer with the rank of "magnificent soprano." She, along a few other Italians, were in Mexico to take part in the first performance of the recently adopted Anthem of Mexico at the Santa Anna Theatre The G ...
and
tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
Lorenzo Salvi Lorenzo Salvi (4 May 1810 – 16 January 1879) was an Italian operatic tenor who had a major international opera career during the nineteenth century. He was particularly associated with the operas of Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi; notab ...
at the
Santa Anna Theatre The Great National Theatre of Mexico was a large opera house in Mexico City. Milestones in its history The theatre was built between 1840 and 1844 by architect Lorenzo de la Hidalga in Mexico City. It was located at the end of Cinco de Mayo ...
.


Lyrics


Current lyrics

Officially since 1943, the full national anthem consists of the chorus and 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 Manuel Ávila Camacho (; 24 April 1897 – 13 October 1955) was a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the President of Mexico from 1940 to 1946. Despite participating in the Mexican Revolution and achieving a high rank, he cam ...
in a decree printed in the
Diario Oficial de la Federación The (DOF; translated variously as the ''Official Journal of the Federation'' or else as ''Official Gazette of the Federation''), published daily by the government of Mexico, is the main official government publication in Mexico. It was founde ...
. When the national anthem is played at sporting events such as the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, 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.


Original lyrics

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


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 Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
, Harry Henneman and Phil Hill. 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. This might be the version that some have suggested is copyrighted in the United States.
San Diego Union Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
br>Mexicans celebrate 150 years of national anthem with worldwide sing-along
September 15, 2004. Retrieved March 15, 2006.
However,
United States copyright law The copyright law of the United States grants monopoly protection for "original works of authorship". With the stated purpose to promote art and culture, copyright law assigns a set of exclusive rights to authors: to make and sell copies of thei ...
declares the Mexican anthem to be in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
inside the United States, since both the lyrics and music were published before 1923. Furthermore, under Mexican copyright law, Article 155 states that the government holds
moral rights Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions. The moral rights include the right of attribution, the right to have a work pu ...
, but not property rights, to symbols of the state, such as the national anthem,
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
and the
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...
.


National regulations

In the second chapter of the
Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem The Law on the National Coat of Arms, Flag and Anthem ( es, Ley sobre el Escudo, la Bandera y el Himno Nacional) is a set of rules and guidelines passed by the Mexican government on the display and use of the flag (bandera), coat of arms (escudo) a ...
(), the national anthem is described in very brief terms. While Articles 2 and 3 discuss in detail the
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
and the
flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...
, 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 (). 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 neto 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 () and the diplomatic official from the nation in question. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Public Education (), 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 Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
or
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
. Article 41 states that the national anthem is required to be played at the
sign-on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...
or
sign-off A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...
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 The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...
. 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 () 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 (), 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.


Cultural significance

At the time the Mexican national anthem was written, Mexico was still facing the effects of a bitter defeat in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
at the hands of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The country felt demoralized and also divided, due to the
cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...
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 Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
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
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
s are found. The national anthem has also been described as one of the symbols of the "Mexican identity". 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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
match in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, she was fined $400 MXN by the Interior Ministry and released an apology letter to the country through the Interior Ministry. 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", 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 shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwor ...
: a tool against people who might not be "true Mexicans" (a "fake Mexican" being a migrant from another
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n country, who pretends that he or she is 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 Afro-Mexicans ( es, afromexicanos), also known as Black Mexicans ( es, mexicanos negros), are Mexicans who have heritage from sub-Saharan Africa and identify as such. As a single population, Afro-Mexicans include individuals descended from both ...
descent was stopped by police and forced to sing the national anthem to prove his nationality.College Street Journa
FP Antonieta Gimeno Attends Conference on Black Mexicans
. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
In a separate incident in Japan, police officers asked four men to sing the Mexican national anthem after they were arrested in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
on charges of breaking and entering. However, when the men could not sing the song, it was discovered that they were
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
ns holding forged Mexican passports. They were later charged with more counts on theft of merchandise and money.


Other languages

Though the ''de facto'' language of Mexico is Spanish, there are still people who only speak
indigenous languages An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...
. 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 (). Officially, the national anthem has been translated into the following native languages:
Chinanteco The Chinantec or Chinantecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean languages, Oto-Manguean family. Though traditionally considered a single language, ''Ethnologue'' lists 14 partially mutual intelligibility, mutually unintelligible va ...
,
Hña Hñu Otomi (; ) is an Oto-Pamean language family spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central ''altiplano'' region of Mexico. Otomi consists of several closely related languages, many of which are not mutually intelligi ...
,
Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerrero. The Mixtec Culture wa ...
,
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
,
Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
and Tenek. Other native groups have translated the anthem into their respective language, but it has not been sanctioned by the Government.Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígena
Himno Nacional Mexicano en lenguas indígenas
/ref>


Musical score

File:Himno mexicanos text2.jpg, Second page of music and lyrics


Notes


References


External links


President of Mexico's page about the anthem, with two recordings
*
Descargas de Videos y audios
{{Authority control
Himno Nacional Mexicano The "Mexican National Anthem" ( es, Himno Nacional Mexicano, nah, Mexihcaletepetlacuicalt), also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the cry of war" ( es, Mexicanos, al grito de guerra), is the national anthem of Mexico. The anthem was first u ...
National symbols of Mexico Mexican music Spanish-language songs 1854 songs National anthems National anthem compositions in C major