Oreste Sindici (May 31, 1828 – January 12, 1904) was an Italian-born Colombian musician and composer. He composed the music for the

Colombian national anthem The "National Anthem of the Republic of Colombia" ( es, Himno Nacional de la República de Colombia, ) is the official name of the national anthem of Colombia. It was originally written as a poem in 1850 by future President Rafael Núñez as an ...

in 1887. He was born in

Ceccano Ceccano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, central Italy, in the Latin Valley. History The town had its origins as an ancient Volscian citadel that surrendered to the Romans in 330 BC (424 Ab Urbe Condita).''The History ...

(

Province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area of ...

) and studied in the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

at Rome. He arrived in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

in 1863 as a singer with an opera company and lived and worked as a musician in Colombia until his death. In 1887 he was asked to compose the music to a poem written by Rafael Núñez. The song was released on November 11, 1887, in commemoration of the Independence of

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

. In 1920 this song officially became the Colombian national anthem. Oreste Sindici died in Bogotá on January 12, 1904, due to severe arteriosclerosis. In 1937 the Colombian government honored his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sindici Italian male composers Colombian composers Academic staff of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia People of Lazian descent Italian operatic tenors Naturalized citizens of Colombia 1828 births 1904 deaths Burials at Central Cemetery of Bogotá 19th-century Colombian male opera singers Italian emigrants to Colombia National anthem writers Deaths from arteriosclerosis 19th-century Italian male opera singers