Atanasio Ndongo Miyone (1928 – March 26, 1969) was an
Equatoguinean musician, writer, and
Fang political figure.
[
] He wrote the lyrics to
Equatorial Guinea's national anthem.
He was executed in 1969 following a failed
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
to depose president
Francisco Macías Nguema
Francisco Macías Nguema (born Mez-m Ngueme, later Africanisation, Africanised to Masie Nguema Biyogo Ñegue Ndong; 1 January 1924 – 29 September 1979), often referred to as Macías Nguema or simply Macías, was an Equatoguinean politician w ...
.
[
]
Political career
In the period leading up to Equatorial Guinea's independence from Spain, Ndongo led one of the country's major political parties, the
National Liberation Movement of Equatorial Guinea (MONALIGE). He established the party in 1959 while living in
Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
; as MONALIGE was an
African nationalist party that campaigned for Equatoguinean independence, he led the party from abroad due to Spanish suppression of independence movements at the time.
[
] After Spain granted Equatorial Guinea independence in 1968, he was defeated by Macías in the country's first elections; though he became the nation's
foreign minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
, he remained discontent with the outcome. In March of the following year, Ndongo was framed by Macías as involved in a fake coup against him, as an excuse that led to Ndongo's execution on March 26, 1969.
Equatorial Guinea's national anthem
Ndongo wrote the lyrics for Equatorial Guinea's national anthem, "
Caminemos pisando las sendas de nuestra inmensa felicidad
"" (; "Let Us Walk Treading the Paths of Our Immense Happiness"), sometimes written with ("the Path") is the national anthem of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west ...
" ("Let Us Tread the Path of our Immense Happiness"), in 1968.
The music was composed by Ramiro Sanchez Lopes, who was a Spanish lieutenant and the deputy director of music at the army headquarters located in Madrid; he received 25,000
pesetas for his efforts. Ndongo's anthem was first played on October 12, 1968, Equatorial Guinea's independence day, and was well-received by his countrymen.
The lyrics of the anthem were influenced by the end of Equatorial Guinea's colonization, with de-colonization being a main theme.
See also
*
Caminemos pisando la senda#Spanish text
*
Music of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea's culture has been less documented than most African countries, and commercial recordings remain scarce.
National music
The national anthem of Equatorial Guinea was written by Atanasio Ndongo Miyone and adopted in 1968, when t ...
*
Equatoguinean literature in Spanish
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyone, Atanasio Ndongo
Foreign ministers of Equatorial Guinea
Equatoguinean writers
Equatoguinean male writers
Executed Equatoguinean people
Music of Equatorial Guinea
20th-century Equatoguinean politicians
1969 deaths
1928 births