La Borinquea

La Borinquea is the official anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The current official music and words were codified in 1903 and have since been taught in schools and generally adopted by the public. The music was officially adopted by the government in 1952, and the words in 1977. The title refers to the aboriginal Tano name for the island of Puerto Rico, Boriken or Borinquen. The music was originally written by Flix Astol Arts in 1867 as an habanera danza, with romantic lyrics. In 1868, Lola Rodrguez de Ti wrote a poem in support of Puerto Rican revolution, which was set to the Astol Arts music. Deemed too subversive for official adoption, a less controversial set of lyrics was written in 1903 by Manuel Fernndez Juncos and taught in the public schools. The tune was officially adopted as the Commonwealth's anthem in 1952, and continued to be sung with the Manuel Fernndez Juncos words (which, however, were not officially adopted until 1977). Both versions are given below. The Fernndez Juncos version is the most familiar version; it is, for example, sung spontaneously to celebrate Puerto Rican successes in athletic events. As of 2004 the "revolutionary" version is associated with the Puerto Rican Independence movement (see Politics of Puerto Rico) and was sung at the Vieques Navy protests.

Official Anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

(words by Manuel Fernndez Juncos, 1903)
La tierra de Borinqun
donde he nacido yo,
es un jardn florido
de mgico fulgor.
land of Borinquen, where I was born, is a flower-garden of magical brilliance.
Un cielo siempre ntido
le sirve de dosel
y dan arrullos plcidos
las olas a sus pies.
ever-clear sky is its canopy, and the waves sing lullabies at its feet.
Cuando a sus playas lleg Coln;
Exclam lleno de admiracin;
"Oh!, oh!, oh!, sta es la linda
tierra que busco yo".
Columbus reached these beaches, full of awe he exclaimed, "This is the lovely land that I seek."
Es Borinqun la hija,
la hija del mar y el sol,
del mar y el sol,
del mar y el sol,
del mar y el sol,
del mar y el sol.
is the daughter of the sea and the sun.

Original 1868 revolutionary version by Lola Rodrguez de Ti

¡Despierta, borinqueo
que han dado la seal!
¡Despierta de ese sueo
que es hora de luchar!
Puerto Rican! The call to arms has sounded! Awake from this dream, it is time to fight!
A ese llamar patritico
¿no arde tu corazn?
¡Ven! Nos ser simptico
el ruido del can.
this patriotic call set your heart alight? Come! We are in tune with the roar of the cannon.
Mira, ya el cubano
libre ser;
le dar el machete
su libertad...
le dar el machete
su libertad.
the Cuban will soon be free; the machete will give him his liberty.
Ya el tambor guerrero
dice en su son,
que es la manigua el sitio,
el sitio de la reunin,
de la reunin...
de la reunin.
the war drum says with its sound, that the jungle is the place of the meeting.
El Grito de Lares
se ha de repetir,
y entonces sabremos
vencer o morir.
Cry of Lares must be repeated, and then we will know: victory or death.
Bellsima Borinqun,
a Cuba hay que seguir;
t tienes bravos hijos
que quieren combatir.
Puerto Rico must follow Cuba; you have brave sons who wish to fight.
ya por ms tiempo impvido
no podemos estar,
ya no queremos, tmidos
dejarnos subyugar.
no longer can we be unmoved; now we do not want timidly to let them subjugate us.
Nosotros queremos
ser libre ya,
y nuestro machete
afilado est.
y nuestro machete
afilado est.
want to be free now, and our machete has been sharpened.
¿Por qu, entonces, nosotros
hemos de estar,
tan dormidos y sordos
y sordos a esa seal?
a esa seal, a esa seal?
then have we been so sleepy and deaf to the call?
No hay que temer, riqueos
al ruido del can,
que salvar a la patria
es deber del corazn!
is no need to fear, Puerto Ricans, the roar of the cannon; saving the nation is the duty of the heart.
ya no queremos dspotas,
caiga el tirano ya,
las mujeres indmitas
tambin sabrn luchar.
no longer want despots, tyranny shall fall now; the unconquerable women also will know how to fight.
Nosotros queremos
la libertad,
y nuestros machetes
nos la darn...
y nuestro machete
nos la dar...
want liberty, and our machetes will give it to us.
Vmonos, borinqueos,
vmonos ya,
que nos espera ansiosa,
ansiosa la libertad.
¡La libertad, la libertad!
Puerto Ricans, come now, we hope and wait for freedom, wait for freedom, freedom, freedom!

See also

 

<< PreviousWord BrowserNext >>
ferdinand ii of naples
seaweed fertiliser
frederick augustus porter barnard
transmembrane helix
mount washington (new hampshire)
mirna
henry barnard
integral membrane protein
cytoskeleton
grammar school
otranto
mid sussex
brundisium
perpetual student
george of trebizond
tigr
bachelor of arts
john wilkins
omar
action potential
circus (performing art)
james j. walker
business logic
container composting
road junction
german mound
leaf mold
t junction
wolfgang iser
sheet composting
artistamp
go proverb
ardennes offensive
cockroach
regicide
mckinley
locked in syndrome
law of large numbers
correlation
ville valo
covariance
battle of the dunes (1658)
copy and paste
list of cities in algeria