Most of us have heard about the immigrant from Mexico who was the last one to arrive at a sold-out major league baseball stadium and needed to perch on the flagpole to watch the game.
His elation became apparent when he later told his family, “Everyone in the stadium looked toward me and asked, ‘Jose, can you see?'”
But today, if the scenario were the same, in light of “Nuestro Himno,” the brand-new Spanish version of the National Anthem, what would Jose tell his family?
Ever since the Day without immigrants, last month, a series of demonstrations and marches across America to call attention to the plight of immigrants, we’ve heard as much brouhaha about the Spanish National Anthem as we have about the work stoppages and boycotts of American businesses. Two quite vocal figures are New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and President Bush. They agree that the anthem should be sung in English.
My question is, “Does the Spanish version of the anthem make people any less patriotic?” For years, our Southwestern school kids have been reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. Does anyone feel any less patriotic uttering a pledge in a language that has been part of our heritage for centuries?
Many pray in Spanish or Italian or Swahili. Let us hope singing hymns in their first language doesn’t become a jailable offense.
My failure to endorse the stand of Richardson or Bush is simply that the words “bombs bursting in air” go down with some difficulty. It’s true that those who have fought with pride in our wars deserve a generous amount of respect and gratitude for their service. However, recent history has shown growing numbers of people taking another tack: War is not the solution. And having Bush intone to grieving families that “The noblest sacrifice a soldier can make is to die for his country” doesn’t necessarily make it so, especially when a disproportionate number of fatalities involve people in the lower economic rungs, and minorities.
The Star-Spangled Banner has been the subject of discussion among groups who prefer that athletic events open with a hymn that touts the good things about America, its “beautiful spacious skies” and “amber waves of grain.” Some consider those images more palatable than the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air.
Sung in the key of C, the anthem’s highest note is the high G just when we get to the “rockets’ red glare.” Even some accomplished singers start an octave lower in anticipation of that hard-to-hit note.
So, what are some alternatives? “God Bless America” is certainly well-known, patriotic and easy to sing, but the implication is that God blesses only America. Bush and other politicians often end their speeches with God bless America, as if the Deity were susceptible to political lobbying: “Please bless us but don’t bless those guys in the Middle East; they don’t deserve it. Amen.”
Those who would like to have “America the Beautiful” adopted as the national anthem say its notes are reachable by the masses, not just by Beverly Sills. It emphasizes the good things in America, such as its purple-mountain majesty. Catherine Lee Bates wrote the words to “America the Beautiful” while on top of Pike’s Peak around 1893.
The music to the current anthem is believed to have been written by a British composer, John Smith, around 1780, to accompany the words to an old English drinking song, “To Anacreon in Heaven.” In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote a poem titled “Defense of Fort McHenry,” whose words became those of The Star-Spangled Banner. But Key’s hymn, unfortunately is the only anthem in the world whose first stanza ends with a question.
“Nuestro Himno,” the new Spanish-language version of the traditional anthem, retains the music, but the lyrics are so far removed from the Key version that it’s almost a different song altogether.
To begin with, “Nuestro Himno” contains the vosotros form of the Spanish language, which we last heard in high school Spanish or in a church or in Spain or in a church in Spain. The archaic conjugation uses “vos” where we in the Southwest would use “tu.” Similarly, we use “ustedes son” where Spanish-speaking clergy would utter “vosotros sois” for “you (all) are.”
The first line reads “Amanece, lo veis?, a la luz de la aurora?” which translates to “It’s sunrise. Do you see by the light of the dawn?”
Although “Nuestro Himno” is unlikely ever to catch on in this region, it’s still parochial, insular and short-sighted to decree that the anthem we recognize in the U.S. is the Star-Spangled Banner.
The recent Senate resolution declaring English the official language is merely re-election-seeking politicians beating their chests and trumpeting to the herd. Coming on the heels of Bush’s decision to send National Guardsmen to patrol the border states — New Mexico, Arizona, California and Texas — the resolution will have no effect at all.
So, amigos, let’s not throw away our Spanish-English dictionaries yet