National Anthem of Peru
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Himno Nacional del Perú English: Peruvian National Anthem |
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National Anthem of | Peru |
Lyrics | José de la Torre Ugarte y Alarcón |
Music | Jose Bernardo Alcedo |
Adopted | 1821 |
The Peruvian National Anthem is the national anthem of Peru. This anthem was adopted in 1821.
[edit] History
After Peru declared its independence, the general José de San Martín began a public contest to select the National March, which was published on 7 August 1821 in the Gaceta Ministerial (the Ministerial Gazette). The contest called upon professors of poetry, composers and general aficionados, to send their signed productions to the Ministry of the State before 18 September, the day in which a designated commission would decide which of them would be adopted as the "National March". The author of the selected composition would be compensated with the government's and the public's gratitude.
Seven compositions were entered, and on the prefixed day, they were reviewed and played in the following order:
- The music of the battalion major "Numancia"
- That of master Alcedo
- That of master Guapaya
- That of master Tena
- That of master Filomeno
- That of Father Aguilar, master of the Augustine Chapel
- Another entry of master Alcedo, at the behest of a brother of the Convent of Saint Domingo
After hearing the last production of master José Bernardo Alcedo, General José de San Martín stood up and exclaimed, "Without a doubt, this is the National Anthem of Peru". The following day, a signed decree confirmed this opinion expressed in the midst of great enthusiasm and jubilation. The anthem was first performed publicly in the night of 23 September 1821 in the Theater of Lima, in the presence of San Martín and the supporters of the independence, who on that day reunited in the capital. The beautiful voice of lady Rosa Merino, was the first to entone the anthem, from the original verses from the poet Don José de la Torre Ugarte from Ica. Upon hearing the music and the lyrics of the National Anthem for the first time, the audience responded with a standing ovation directed at Alcedo, who conducted the orchestra.
Diverse publications of the anthem had subtle modifications in the lyrics and the music, which was then restored by Claudio Rebagliati in 1869 at the behest of Alcedo. In 1874 there was a solicitation which asked for a revision to the lyrics of the anthem, in light of the various versions in circulation, as well as the minor mistakes which were found. This initiative was approved, but did not prosper, due to the rejection that it generated in the public opinion at its core and the recognition that it had already become a time honored tradition.
In 1901 there was another intent to reform the anthem, this time approved by the administration of Eduardo López de Romaña, who approved of the music of the restored anthem by Claudio Rebagliati. He declared a new contest to select new lyrics as he considered the original lyrics as aggressive towards Spain , which at the time had amiable relations with Peru. The winner of the contest was the poet José Santos Chocano, whose verses along with the same chorus went on to be sung in public schools and in public venues. It was not long until public opinion once again asked for the original lyrics to be restored. Public pressure was so great that the Peruvian Congress was obligated in 1913 during the administration of Don Guillermo Billinghurst to declare intangible the lyrics as well as the chorus of the National Anthem.
In 1959, at the behest of Raúl Porras Barrenechea, Chabuca Granda composed a new replacement for the first verse in the anthem, but this was never implemented:
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The last attempt to change the anthem was during the administration of General Juan Velasco Alvarado who attempted to change the second and third stanzas. In similar form to previous attempts, it was imposed during official ceramonies and in schools and the last stanza was sung instead of the first. But this attempt also had no success and the original anthem was once again sung.
The Constitutional Tribunal determined in June 2005 that the first stanza in the anthem (Largo tiempo...) was not written by José de la Torre Ugarte and that was just a popular folklore, but its insertion into the history of the anthem expressed the will of the people represented in Law N° 1801 passed by Congress which declares it an intangible subject. The Constitutional Tribunal also verified that the fifth stanza had been excluded in the original anthem and considering author's rights and the integrity of the piece, it was ordered that the fifth stanza be restored into the official anthem as the sixth stanza with a total of seven stanzas making up the official national anthem.
[edit] Lyrics
Spanish lyrics
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English translation
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[edit] External links
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