"" (, ast, Asturies, patria querida) is the official

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

of the

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

, in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. This adaptation of a much slower song from the neighbouring lands of

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

("") was appointed as official anthem after a contest in

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located a ...

in the 1890s. It has both a Castilian (Spanish) and an Asturian version. It is also a popular melody for bagpipers. In the mid-2000s, it was discovered that the first song lyrics were written in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

. The father of the author had returned to his beloved Asturias to die, the author—

Ignacio Piñeiro Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez (May 21, 1888 – March 12, 1969) was a Cuban musician, bandleader and composer whose career started in rumba and flowered in the rise of the son. He was one of the most important composers of son music; in total he w ...

—dedicated the song to his father. The music was different; it is believed to be a melody that

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

n miners from the area of

Opole Silesia Opole Silesia or Opolian Silesia ( pl, Śląsk Opolski, also known as ''Opolszczyzna'', german: Oppelner Schlesien, szl, Ôpolski Ślōnsk, cs, Opolské Slezsko), is a loosely defined historical region of Poland, part of Upper Silesia. Throug ...

—that worked in Asturian coal mines at the beginning of the 20th century—had brought to Asturias. In fact, the song is still known in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, where it used to be taught as a patriotic song (with the lyrics brought back by Polish brigadistas)."''El himno de Asturias suena a polaco en Avilés''"
, published in ''La Nueva España'', accessible in "''Polonia en España''" (polonia-es.com). A few versions of the anthem were created by the Republican side of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, therefore the anthem was seen as a miners song (it is said the miners' revolt in Asturias in 1934 was a wake-up call to the civil war) and as a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

song by

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

people.

Lyrics

Below are the lyrics from the version sung during the

Asturian miners' strike of 1934 The Asturian miners' strike of 1934 was a major strike action undertaken by regional miners against the 1933 Spanish general election, which redistributed political power from the leftists to conservatives in the Second Spanish Republic. The s ...

References

Fernando de la Puente documents Asturian anthem history
i
Asturies.com
(in Asturian) * Asturian Newspape
''La Nueva España''
reports o
news
about anthem history (in Spanish). {{Asturias topics Spanish anthems Regional songs Asturian culture Spanish-language songs Anthems of non-sovereign states Drinking songs

Lyrics

See also

References