Jaime Nunó Roca (September 8, 1824 – July 18, 1908) was a Spanish composer from Catalonia who composed the music for the

Mexican national anthem The "Mexican National Anthem", also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the Cry of War", is the official national anthem of the United Mexican States. Its lyrics, composed by poet Francisco González Bocanegra after a Federal contest in 1853, ...

Early life and education

Nunó was born on September 8, 1824, in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, a town in the province of

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Both his parents, Francisco Nunó and Magdalena Roca, died before his ninth birthday. After their death, Nunó was raised by his uncle Bernard, a seller of silks in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, who financed his musical studies in that city. There he demonstrated his skill as a soloist in the city cathedral, as well as a choir director and organist, for which he gained a scholarship to study with the composer

Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti or Gioa ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Career

Upon Nunó's return to Barcelona, he was named director of the Queen's Regimental Band in 1851 and travelled with them to Cuba where he met and befriended

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

, the former Mexican president. When Santa Anna returned to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1853 to again resume the office of president, he invited Jaime Nunó to lead the Mexican military bands. His arrival coincided with the national call to compose the Mexican National Anthem. Nunó participated, composing music for the lyrics of Mexican poet Francisco González Bocanegra, and was declared the winner on August 12, 1854. The anthem made its debut at the Santa Anna Theater, on September 15, 1854, and was performed by soprano Claudina Florentini and Lorenzo Salvi, tenor and conducted by Master Vitessiri, with the orchestra of the Great Italian Opera Company. After the overthrow of President Santa Anna, Nunó emigrated to the U.S. and worked as a conductor and opera director, conducting the concerts of

Sigismond Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family Thalberg was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. Thalberg asserted that he ...

in New York City.

Later life and death

After a time in Spain, he returned to the U.S. and settled in Buffalo, New York, where he was found by a Mexican journalist in 1901. When this news reached Mexico, the current president,

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

, invited him to return; he did so and received various honors between 1901 and 1904. He died in New York on July 18, 1908. In 1942 the Mexican government ordered that his remains be exhumed and interred in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres () in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, where they remain.

Legacy

In 2010, coinciding with the bicentennial of Mexico's independence, the Catalan musicologists Cristian Canton and Raquel Tovar located the only descendant of Jaime Nunó, his great-grandson, living in the U.S. at Pelham, New York. The family granted access to the personal archive of Jaime Nunó, containing about 5,000 unpublished documents (personal letters, scores, official documents, etc.); all this information allowed Canton and Tovar writing the first complete biography of Nunó. This book had a high media coverage and has been described as ''"an essential title to understand the musical history of Mexico"''. Also, in the context of the rediscovery of the figure of Jaume Nunó, his native town, Sant Joan de les Abadesses, opened a museum dedicated to the composer in his birth house, known as ''El Palmàs''. Since the recovery of these documents, the unpublished music of Jaime Nunó has been played again, a complete edition of his works was published in 2012 and a recording of them was expected in 2014.(e
Historia del himno Nacional
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuno Roca, Jaime Composers from Catalonia National anthem writers 1824 births 1908 deaths Mexican military musicians Burials at the Panteón de Dolores