The

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

( es, Himno nacional de República Dominicana), also known by its

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...

Valiant Quisqueyans ( es, Quisqueyanos valientes), was composed by

José Rufino Reyes y Siancas José Rufino Reyes y Siancas (también conocido como Jose Reyes) (November 15, 1836 – January 31, 1905) was a Dominican composer, known for writing the music in the Dominican national anthem. Among his other works are compositions of waltzes ...

(1835–1905), and its lyrics were authored by

Emilio Prud'Homme Emilio Prud'Homme y Maduro (August 20, 1856- July 21, 1932) was a Dominican lawyer, writer, and educator. Prud'Homme is known for having authored the lyrics of the Dominican national anthem. He is also attributed with helping establish a nationa ...

(1856–1932).

History

José Reyes was inspired to create a national anthem for the Dominican Republic after having seen the Argentine National Anthem in the Parisian newspaper ''El Americano''. In 1883, he invited his friend Emilio Prud'Homme to write lyrics for the anthem. The first version of Prud'Homme's lyrics was published in the weekly newspaper ''El Eco de la Opinion'' on 16 August 1883, and the first public performance of the anthem took place the next day on 17 August in Respectable Hope Lodge No. 9 in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. Though the music was an instant success, several objections were made to the lyrics for having various historical inaccuracies. In 1897, Prud’Homme submitted revised lyrics, which stand to this day. On 7 June 1897, the

Congress of the Dominican Republic The Congress of the Dominican Republic ( es, Congreso de la República Dominicana) is the bicameral legislature of the government of the Dominican Republic, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Both senators and deput ...

passed an act adopting "Himno Nacional" with the original music and revised lyrics as the country's official national anthem; however, then-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ulises Heureaux (1846–1898) vetoed the act, because the lyric's author, Prud’Homme, was an opponent of the president and his administration. In 1899, Heureaux was assassinated, and the political disorder that ensued prevented the national anthem's legal adoption until 30 May 1934, when "Himno Nacional" was officially adopted and signed into law.

Lyrics

The Spanish name of the Dominican Republic, "", is never used in the anthem's official Spanish lyrics, nor is the demonym for Dominicans, "". Rather, the indigenous word for the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, "", is used twice, and its derivative demonym, "", is used once. However, research later showed that these words do not seem to derive from the original

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...

Taíno language Taíno is an extinct Arawakan language that was spoken by the Taíno people of the Caribbean. At the time of Spanish contact, it was the most common language throughout the Caribbean. Classic Taíno (Taíno proper) was the native language of th ...

. In public, the national anthem is usually performed through the end of the lyric's fourth paragraph.

References

External links

Ceremonial performance of the Dominican Republic's national anthem

Vocal
{{Nationalanthemsofnorthamerica Dominican Republic music National symbols of the Dominican Republic

Spanish-language songs National anthems National anthem compositions in E-flat major