The two versions of La Borinqueña?
Daniel P. B. Smith
La Borinqueña? What I know so far is that there was an original
"revolutionary" version written by Lola Rodríguez de Tió in 1867,
beginning ¡Despierta Borinqueño que han dado la señal!
In 1952, La Borinqueña was adopted as the official Anthem of Puerto
Rico, but the original words were apparently considered too subversive
or something, and a completely different, innocuous set of lyrics by
Manuel Fernández Juncos, beginning "La tierra de Borinquen donde he
nacido yo es un jardín florido de mágico primor," was substituted.
When were these new lyrics substituted and why? When were they written?
Is the original version still popular and still sung?
What do the two versions each mean to the average Puerto Rican? Do they
have a present-day political significance?
And... is there somewhere I can find a good translation of the de Tió
lyrics into English? Preferably one that's in the public domain, or can
be released under the GNU Free Documentation License.
(I'm doing this because I'm working on a Wikipedia article on
La Borinqueña. The reason I'm working on it is that someone simply
posted the de Tio lyrics in Spanish without translation or explanation,
which doesn't make a good article. If you aren't familiar with
Wikipedia, _anyone_ can contribute or edit an article, so if you'd like
to work on this yourself, please join in. The page is:
//http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Borinque%f1a
This is an article in the English-language Wikipedia and intended for an
English-speaking audience. There is also a Spanish-language Wikipedia).
--
Daniel P. B. Smith, dpbsmith at world dot ess tee dee dot com
"Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print!
Sample chapter at http://world.std.com/~dpbsmith/messy.html
Buy it at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1403314063/
Jaime Rivera-Sierra
no lyrics. It was sung by many Puerto Ricans and became very famous
in the independent movement. Lola put the lyrics together and it
turned into an anti-occupation song. In 1953 when the new colonial
government was constituted, Gov. Muñoz Marín took the symbols of the
independent movement and adapted them to the new commonwealth. The
flag, originally sky-blue, red and white, was changed to navy-blue,
scarlet and white to resemble the colors of the US flag. Yes, the US
flag is not red-white-blue but scarlet-navy blue-white. The second
symbol used by the independence movement was La Borinqueña. He
changed the lyrics of Lola and created a submissive type of hymn.
The true revolutionary hymn is sung at every pro-independence rally.
There is no way our movement can sing the humiliating lyrics that the
tainted hymn cites.
As with many songs, a translation is not possible without changing the
meaning. I suggest you learn Spanish and hear it. Is the only way to
admire the true Puerto Rican feeling behind it.
"Daniel P. B. Smith" <see-my-s...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<see-my-sig-please-D...@news.fu-berlin.de>...
Jaime Rivera-Sierra
before Lola, they played it or whistled it.
jaim...@hotmail.com (Jaime Rivera-Sierra) wrote in message news:<62d1ca4d.04041...@posting.google.com>...
Jose Diaz
"Daniel P. B. Smith" <see-my-s...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:see-my-sig-please-D...@news.fu-berlin.de...
> La Borinqueña? What I know so far is that there was an original
> "revolutionary" version written by Lola Rodríguez de Tió in 1867,
> beginning ¡Despierta Borinqueño que han dado la señal!
>
> In 1952, La Borinqueña was adopted as the official Anthem of Puerto
> Rico, but the original words were apparently considered too subversive
> or something, and a completely different, innocuous set of lyrics by
> Manuel Fernández Juncos, beginning "La tierra de Borinquen donde he
> nacido yo es un jardín florido de mágico primor," was substituted.
>
> When were these new lyrics substituted and why? When were they written?
> Is the original version still popular and still sung?
>
"La Borinqueña" originated as a "danza", a popular form of 19th Century
PRican salon music, by composer Félix Astol. In its original version, it
had a romantic lyric praising the beauties of the Borinqueña, the woman of
Borinquen:
"Bellísima trigueña, imagen del candor,
del jardín de Borinquen, pura y fragante flor..."
This became a very popular piece in the mid-19th Century and became
identified as one fo the signature tunes of Puerto Rican music. It is a
quite lengthy piece in four parts with an opening, 2 distinct bridges and a
coda.
In time for the (failed) Lares revolt in 1868, Lola had penned an anthem for
the movement:
"Despierta Borinqueño, que han dado la señal,
despierta de este sueno, que es hora de luchar..."
Following a pattern that similar to the American national anthem -- taking
over a popular tune -- the patriotic poem was adapted to a version of the
danza by Astol. For the purposes of its use as an anthem it was given 4
stanzas to fill the entire composition.
Following the failure of the Lares revolt in 1868, and the repressive regime
instaurated by the spanish authorities specially after 1887, the situation
was unfavorable for any use of the revolutionary lyric (which was preserved
among pro-independence groups). However, the popularity of Astol's tune was
indisputable, even if now uncomfortably "associated" . And its "underground"
status itself only made it more attractive. What to do?
Into the fray in the 1890s stepped Spain-born Puerto Rican writer Manuel
Fernández Juncos. His solution: write an ode to the land and sea of Puerto
Rico, a sort of "Puerto Rico the Beautiful", to the tune.
"La Tierra de Borinquen, donde he nacido yo,
es un jardín florido, de mágico primor..."
Now La Borinqueña would be "safe" for polite company. Conveniently, this
coincides with the takeover by the USA in 1898. Soon, La Borinqueña with
the Fernández Juncos lyric and a shortened composition for only one stanza
was being included among the songs learned by PRican students in school,
together with La Tierruca and (for the brief attempt at assimilation)
America the Beautiful. During that time period, "patriotic" song in PR is
about love for your soil and people -- political nationalism was a dangerous
thing to espouse.
During the time between 1900 and 1952, the simplified tune became the most
popularly known, and between on one side the school establishment with the
Fernández Juncos' song to the beauty of the land, and to the other side the
pro-independence movement with the 1st. stanza of Rodríguez de Tió's
revolutionary lyric it was perpetuated. In a peculiar convergence, on both
sides in its own form it grows to become loved as a Puerto Rican anthem.
On 24 July 1952, the day before the Commonwealth is established, a "solemn"
arrangement of the short version of the *tune* La Borinqueña becomes
officially declared the anthem of the Commonwealth. However *neither* lyric
was officialized. Instead, it is announced there would be a contest...
possibly to choose an altogether new lyric of la Borinqueña? The reasoning
behind that requires someone with more time to research. You do have to
bear in mind that for many nationalists in 1952, the adoption by the
commonwealth government of the lone-star flag and the Borinqueña was a
rather insulting misappropriation of what to them should have been the
symbols of a Free Puerto Rico, not of this entity bound to the USA. So
probably at that time there was an idea of adopting a "state" lyric that
would let other parties keep singing whatever they wanted in private. The
contest, however, never happens.
The People, however, had grown to love their flag and anthem as *theirs*
rather than belonging to any political movement, so they adopted them
eagerly. And since the majority had grown up with the Fernández Juncos
lyric, they kept on singing it.
It is TWENTY FIVE years later, in 1977, that the government of the
commonwealth finally decides to make it legal and officializes the Fernández
Juncos lyric. This was, after all, the most popular version, and the one
that would spontaneously rise when, for instance, a PRican athlete would win
a sports event. More recently, during the current administration, there was
legislation presented to make sure that in *official* activities, only the
*official* version is used -- to this day we annoyingly often hear the
original Astol danza played in its usual
> What do the two versions each mean to the average Puerto Rican? Do they
> have a present-day political significance?
The Fernández Juncos lyric is well-beloved and is recognized as the official
anthem of Puerto Rico(*). To this day, the Rodríguez de Tió lyric is clearly
identified with the pro-independence movement, with nationalism; although at
least the first stanza is recently better known than it had been since the
mid 20th century. It was prominent during the movement associated with the
removal of the Vieques US Navy base, (which is iroinic as one of its verses
literally says "come, we'll learn to enjoy the noise of cannon fire").
However the revolutionary rhetoric tends to put off many people, due to the
calls to violent fighting.
(*)This is not to say that many of us don't wonder if old Manuel could not
have come up with something better. I mean, covering three long notes by
singing "OOOh, OOOOh, OOOOh..." is a bit awkward.
h0mi
sig-please-DA0DB...@news.fu-berlin.de:
> Could someone help me understand the background of the two versions of
> La Borinqueña? What I know so far is that there was an original
> "revolutionary" version written by Lola Rodríguez de Tió in 1867,
> beginning ¡Despierta Borinqueño que han dado la señal!
Nice to see some posts that actually have to do with the culture of Puerto
Rico. Which leads me to this question.
> In 1952, La Borinqueña was adopted as the official Anthem of Puerto
> Rico,
What was the anthem before this?
I'm not sure I've ever heard either song (or version of the same song).
Jaime Rivera-Sierra
Pseudo-constitution of 1953 Puerto Rico used the US anthem and US
Flag. Same during Spain, Puerto Ricans used, officially, the flag and
Anthem of Spain.
h0mi <h0...@ooohay.com> wrote in message news:<Xns94D4D99A81F...@68.6.19.6>...
Jose Diaz
>
> > In 1952, La Borinqueña was adopted as the official Anthem of Puerto
> > Rico,
>
> What was the anthem before this?
Before 1952, there was NO *official* anthem or flag of the Territory of
Puerto Rico. Heck, even "The Star Spangled Banner" was *NOT* made an
*official* US anthem until 1931. Over 115 years after being written. Before
that it was an anthem "by popular acclamation" in much the same way as
Borinqueña was down here.
This was not unusual -- at the time, territories did NOT have flags or
theme-songs. Even many *states* did not have a *legally official* "state
song" until well into the 20th Century (and a few did not even officialize a
flag until the early 20th Century). Only the likes of Texas would uphold
their flag and statesong due to the history behind it. *Puerto Ricans* of
course, could use either version of Borinqueña as anthem and either the
Lares or the 1895 banners as flag... if they felt like taking the risk.
In ceremonies of PR in other countries, say if a PR legislative delegation
were visiting Panama in 1940, they would play the US anthem. In ceremonies
of the territorial government, the US flag and anthem would be used. There
*was* "government flag", which was just a blank banner with the Seal of
Puerto Rico (the circular version of the coat of arms) on the center,
similar to the modern flag of the city of San Juan, which was just an ensign
of the administration and was not for general display. In 1936 there was a
legislative proposal to officialize the monoestrellada and it led to a riot
at the Capitol where one person got fatally injured (thrown down the
stairs). Another proposal to officialize a flag that would be the Seal on a
gold background never went anywhere.
The only PR symbol made official before 1952 was the modified circular
version of the 1511 Coat of Arms that became the "Seal" of the Government of
PR around 1906 or thereabout, replacing a Seal chosen by the US authorities
in 1900. And in *that* case it also took until 1977 to correct things and
re-officialize the heraldically-correct CoA, distinct from the circular Seal
(And to complicate things: *during the Spanish period* in the 1800s the
seals/CoAs of San Juan, of PR, and of the Diocese had been used
interchangeably, and no flag or anthem other than Spain's was provided for
the Colony/Overseas Province/Autonomous Province of PR[*] as such. The
decree of 1511 refers readers to an attached model drawing which was lost,
so the Seal and CoA had to be reconstructed from secondary sources by
researchers. It's not even sure if "Ioannes Est Nomen Eivs" was *really*
the motto on that original CoA!.)
[* Xcept one granted waaaayyy back in the 16th century, as an ensign of the
colonial authority, which was based on the castles-and-lions of Spain, with
green and red fields]
hegemón
thing that I would add comes from Sociologist Angel G. Quintero Rivera's
recent "Salsa Sabor y Control" (we are hoping for his University of
Minnesota Press version in english) or Salsa, Flavor and Control: A
Sociology of Tropical Music where Chuco explains that the "danza," while
considered of Puerto Rican origin (allegedly authored by Astol was a
Catalonian who lived for 20 years in Puerto Rico), its origin may be
more complicated. According to Maria Teresa Babin, there are versions of
this song in Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. This is not
unusual since globalization has been part of the Caribbean transnational
experience from the beginning with intense cultural exchanges by
sailors, travelers and maroons.
The irony of this national anthem is that the "danza," which is
considered art music, has as part of its central core the "clave," that
unique African arrangement that makes "bomba' and "plena" such
distinctive Afro Caribbean rhythms. The other irony is that Puerto Rico
has probably one of the few national anthems that is a dance song
(despite efforts to make it martial song) which is more akin to our
cultural character.
We are a dancing people, even those of us with two left feet.