Nicaragua National Anthem

 

This week we are looking at the national anthem of Nicaragua which is "Salve a ti, Nicaragua," which translates to "Hail to thee, Nicaragua." 

It was approved in 1939 and officially adopted in 1971. The lyrics were written by Salomón Ibarra Mayorga, and the music was composed by Ernesto or Anselmo Castinove, with arrangements by Luis A. Delgadillo.

The melody of the anthem goes back to the 1700s as a liturgical anthem in Spain. It was brought to Nicaragua shortly before independence in 1821 and was declared as the country’s first official anthem sometime between 1835 and 1837.

This wordless melody was used until 1876, when it was replaced with the song Soldados,ciudadanos (Soldiers, Citizens). Also thought to be wordless. It was replaced yet again in 1893 after General José Santos Zelaya took over the country; it was replaced with Hermosa Soberana (Beautiful Sovereign) which was composed by Zelaya’s son-in-law Alejandro Cousin and was written by either Rubén Darío, Santiago Argüello or Manuel Maldonado.

This was replaced in 1910 after Zelaya fled the country, but the song remains a popular patriotic song in Nicaragua.

After decades of political upheaval, which was reflected in the anthem, it was decided to bring stability back to the country by bringing stability to the anthem, so the first anthem, the piece of liturgical music brought over from Spain nearly 90 years previously, was reinstated as the anthem, but had to be recreated from memory as no written record of the music was found. Emergency lyrics were written by Marco Antonio Ortega under the title LA Patria Amada (The Beloved Homeland) until a contest could be held for new lyrics.

The first priority was to arrange the old music of the national anthem, and Luis Abraham Delgadillo, a Nicaraguan composer who studied in Milan, was chosen to arrange the anthem. A contest was then held for the new lyrics for the anthem. The requirements were that there be words for both parts of the anthem, the only topic would be peace and work (as a contrast to the political upheavals of recent history) and that the words fit the melody. The winning lyrics were adopted by the government in 1939.

Hail to thee, Nicaragua!

In thy soil, no longer rages the cannon's voice,
Nor does thy glorious two-coloured banner stain
With the blood of brothers.
May peace shine beautiful in thy sky,
Nothing tarnishes thy immortal glory,
For labour is thy worthy laurel,
And honour is thy triumphal ensign!