"Jose, can you see? "

sort of...



English translation:

Verse 1

It's sunrise. Do you see by the light of the dawn

What we proudly hailed last nightfall?

Its stars, its stripes

yesterday streamed

above fierce combat

a symbol of victory

the glory of battle, the march toward liberty.

Throughout the night, they proclaimed: "We will defend it!"

Chorus

Tell me! Does its starry beauty still wave

above the land of the free,

the sacred flag?

Verse 2

Its stars, its stripes,

Liberty, we are the same.

We are brothers in our anthem.

In fierce combat, a symbol of victory

the glory of battle,

(My people fight on)

the march toward liberty.

(The time has come to break the chains.)

Throughout the night they proclaimed: "We will defend it!"

Tell me! Does its starry beauty still wave

above the land of the free,

the sacred flag?

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Wonder why it's called "Nuestro Himno," and why they didn't just translate "The Star Spangled Banner" into Spanish . . . .

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Hmm. I don't remember that stanza in the one by F.S. Key...not even in the verses most people don't know...

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"You'll find a slight squeeze on the hooter an excellent safety precaution, Miss Scrumptious."

"I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong." -- Richard Feynman

Funny you should mention that... they did. In 1919. Commissioned by the government and you can find it on the State Dept's webpage

http://usinfo.state.gov/.../anthem_spanish.html

First verse is the same as Nuestro Himno, but Nuestr oHimno's second verse is new (ie not a translation, most lines are a wholesale rewite.) Makes you wonder, with the song title, and lyrics like "my peope fight on" and "time to break the chains" who exactly is supposed to be included in "nuestro"

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Makes you wonder, with the song title, and lyrics like "my peope fight on" and "time to break the chains" who exactly is supposed to be included in "nuestro"

Exactly.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Bad idea, hermano. Even Dubya's limited ability to clearly enunciate an idea was somehow sharp enough on this issue to get the point across: SING THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER (AND NOT SOME MUDDLED VERSION OF A RECONQUISTA "HIMNO") IN ENGLISH.



Balkanization, here we come.



T.

I (and apprently the feds in 1919) have no problem with a Spanish translation of the anthem per se. (It should be done in English though at public events).

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But it's not a literal translation of the words as written by Key. It's as Vee-man says. It's a NEW hymn that emphasizes something not intended by the original.

What common language in the United States binds us together? What language acts as a catalyst in creating the "melting pot"?

Maybe I'm expecting too much. After all, something like two-thirds of U.S. students couldn't find Iraq on a map or even Louisiana, apparently. So really, how much do our own citizens actually care about the nation, nowadays?

T.

Right, and like you guys I think it's a bad idea for that very reason.

I just find criticisms that the real anthem should only be sung in English to be silly, and that the federal government sure didn't think that in 1919.

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I just find criticisms that the real anthem should only be sung in English to be silly, and that the federal government sure didn't think that in 1919.

Yes, but this isn't 1919, the translation wasn't done by the federal government, and the motivations of those behind it aren't the same as the federal government's were in 1919.

Nobody thought for a minute that the latest translation effort was undertaken in a desire for Mexican immigrants to express their patriotism and love of America. The perception was that it was an in your face kind of thing- sort of a big "screw you, whitey." And the actual translation only confirms that perception.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

The perception was that it was an in your face kind of thing- sort of a big "screw you, whitey."

That's screw you, GRINGO. You cabron. ;-)

T.

Yes, but this isn't 1919 [snip]

Yes, but, that has nothing to do with what I wrote.

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Sure it does. You don't think America is considering Nuestro Himno in a political/social vacuum, do you?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

I wasn't talking about Nustro Himno in my response to BK. I was talking about people singing the actual anthem in Spanish, which is something that doesn't bother me.


We all agree on Nuestro Himno I think.

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I agree with jhc. I don't think I'd have a problem with the actual anthem being sung in Spanish. I get overheated, though, when I read about and watch on tv demands that "Our Hymn", or whatever, be given the same weight in our nation's culture as The Star Spangled Banner.

To me, it's just stealth reconquista.

T.

I wasn't talking about Nustro Himno in my response to BK. I was talking about people singing the actual anthem in Spanish

I know, I got that. What I'm saying is that even if I didn't know that Nuestro Himno was a whole 'nother song, and I thought that the newest recording was simply an accurate translation, I would still perceive it to carry the same sort of anti-gringo message.

In fact, I did think that until your post- I knew that they were planning to release a modified version as well, but I thought the initial Spanish version was going to be simply a translation. And I still didn't think they were doing it because they were moved by patriotic sentiment- I thought they were doing it to stick their thumb in our eye. And my thinking on that was only confirmed when you posted the lyrics.

In other words, yes, I agree that there's nothing inherently wrong with a Spanish translation of the anthem, and in certain contexts, I would be fine with it. The current situation is not one of those contexts.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

In fact, I did think that until your post- I knew that they were planning to release a modified version as well, but I thought the initial Spanish version was going to be simply a translation. And I still didn't think they were doing it because they were moved by patriotic sentiment- I thought they were doing it to stick their thumb in our eye. And my thinking on that was only confirmed when you posted the lyrics.

Hmmm...

If they had actually released an accurate translation I don't think I would ascribe those motivations to them.

Of course the real motivation of the guy who wrote Nustro Himno (who is a British music producer I think) is money, pure and simple.

PS: personal to BK - himno is also the Spanish word for anthem.

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Maybe himno is the Castilian Spanish word made up to reflect the actual English word (etymologically, probably from Latin or some other dusty old dead language ;-) hymn. Or vice-versa. Who knows?

I'm not kidding when I say that I've heard the word "anthem", in TexMex, literally said as "ahn-tem" or "ahn-tem-oh".

Antonio

If they had actually released an accurate translation I don't think I would ascribe those motivations to them.

In light of current events, what motives would you have ascribed to them?

(Granted the greed of the pasty Brit who masterminded the whole thing, of course. As far as that goes, does anyone have an idea how this has been received among the immigration movement? I have heard a lot of criticism of it from other sources, but have no idea what the reaction is among all those people who've been out marching.)

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

In light of current events, what motives would you have ascribed to them?

"We're proud of our Hispanic heritage but we love America too" ... maybe?



As far as that goes, does anyone have an idea how this has been received among the immigration movement?

In the first article I saw about it, they had some mixed reactions from Hispanics. Dont know much more than that.

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"We're proud of our Hispanic heritage but we love America too" ... maybe?

In some contexts, sure. Not this one.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

It's a moot point I suppose

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