Background
The idea for the song came from British music executive Adam Kidron, as a show of support to Hispanic immigrants in the United States. The song is included on the album Somos Americanos; a portion of the profits of which go to the National Capital Immigration Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based group. Many other artist including Tito El Bambino and Frank Reyes are also originally to be feature on the song, originating from an album which is a "collection of the latino experience in America" according to Barry Jeckell of Billboard.
Reporter Stephen Dinan wrote: "The song 'Nuestro Himno,' which means 'Our Anthem,' is not a faithful and literal Spanish translation of the words to 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' but is a hip-hop-style remix with new raps and chants."
The song's first verse is apparently based on a 1919 translation prepared by Francis Haffkine Snow for the U.S. Bureau of Education. The only changes to the first verse from this version are a replacement of "no veis" ("don't you see?") with "lo veis" ("do you see it?"); "barras" ("bars") with "franjas" ("stripes"); and "Fulgor de cohetes, de bombas estruendo" ("the brilliance of rockets, the roar of bombs") with "Fulgor de la lucha, al paso de la libertad" ("the brilliance of struggle, in step with freedom"). However, subsequent verses diverge significantly between the 1919 and 2006 versions.
The song features Latin American artists such as Haitian native Wyclef Jean, Cuban-American hip hop star Pitbull and Puerto Rican singers Carlos Ponce and Olga Tañón. It debuted at 7:00 p.m. ET on April 28, 2006 on more than 500 Spanish language radio stations.
A remix was planned to be released in June. It will contain several lines in English that condemn U.S. immigration laws. Among them: "These kids have no parents, cause all of these mean laws... let's not start a war with all these hard workers, they can't help where they were born."
This is not the first time that the National Anthem has been translated into another language by ethnic and immigrant groups in the United States. In 1861, it was translated into German. It has also been translated into Yiddish by Jewish immigrants and into French by Cajuns.
Read more about this topic: Nuestro Himno
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)
“Pilate with his question “What is truth?” is gladly trotted out these days as an advocate of Christ, so as to arouse the suspicion that everything known and knowable is an illusion and to erect the cross upon that gruesome background of the impossibility of knowledge.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)