"" is the official anthem of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. After Puerto Rico became known as "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in 1952, the first elected governor,

Luis Muñoz Marín José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth." In 1948 he ...

, signed law #2 of July 24, 1952, which made an altered version of the musical composition known as "La Borinqueña" its national anthem. The words that go with the composition were approved by governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

on July 27, 1977, as per law #123."La Fortaleza, Simbolos Patrios: Himno de Puerto Rico"
. Retrieved: February 23, 2008.

Etymology

The title refers to the aboriginal

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

name for the island of Puerto Rico, .

History

The music was originally credited to Félix Astol Artés in 1867 as a habanera danza, with romantic lyrics, but there is some evidence that Francisco Ramírez, a native of San Germán, wrote the music in 1860, and named it "La Almojábana". In 1868, Lola Rodríguez de Tió wrote a poem in support of the Puerto Rican revolution, which was set to the Ramírez/Astol music. In fear of investigation by the Spanish government, Ramírez asked Astol to claim authorship of the music since he was a native of

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 ...

and would, therefore, raise no suspicion. After the cession of the island to the United States, the popular revolutionary lyrics of Lola Rodríguez de Tió were deemed too subversive for official adoption; therefore, a non-confrontational set of lyrics were written in 1903 by

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

-born Manuel Fernández Juncos. The tune was officially adopted as Puerto Rico's national anthem in 1952 by governor

, and the words were adopted in 1977 by governor Carlos Romero Barceló. The version of "La Borinqueña" that is most commonly performed today is performed as a slow-tempo march, without the original tune's initial ''paseo''. Per the request of the new government, Ramón Collado rearranged the music in 1952 into a more military-like tune. Luis Miranda, the musical director of Puerto Rico's 65th Infantry Regiment Band, adapted the tune to be played as a march in 1922. The 1977 law that officially adopted the words merely stated that "La Borinqueña" be played as a march, with the tempo vaguely described as being in a "martial manner", but established no official arrangement for the music. An official revision made in 2003 leaves the tune as a march. In 2012, Dr. Yajaira Sierra Sastre, an aspiring astronaut, collaborated in a variety of projects with the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and the Cornell Nanoscale Facility, which included writing the smallest "national" anthem ever written, "La Borinqueña Más Pequeña". According to Puerto Rico Law # 2 of July 24, 1952, both "La Borinqueña" and "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" are played at official events. During international sports competitions such as the Olympics, only "La Borinqueña" is played. The anthem, with its revolutionary lyrics, was featured in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's 2021 film adaptation of the stage musical ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', sung by the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, early in the film. It was never used in the stage version nor its 1961 film adaptation prior to this film.

Lyrics

Current lyrics

The following are the current lyrics, as written by Manuel Fernández Juncos and adopted in 1903.

Original 1868 revolutionary lyrics

Abridged version

A short version of the revolutionary lyrics is sometimes sung, consisting of the first half of the first verse and the second half of the third verse.

Notes

References

External links

MIDI version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borinquena Anthems of insular areas of the United States History of Puerto Rico Regional songs Anthems of non-sovereign states National symbols of Puerto Rico North American anthems Compositions in B-flat major Songs about Puerto Rico Songs in Spanish 1952 establishments in Puerto Rico