Nuestro Himno (Spanish language version of “The Star-Spangled Banner”)

Does the thought of the English language not doing being the majority spoken language make you uncomfortable? Does the idea of Caucasians in America being a minority seem wrong? Do you think America be an inferior country if the majority of citizens were Muslim and Buddhist as opposed to Christian?

There is something weird in the air. Controversy about allowing Muslim to build their house of worship, illegal immigration suspicions in Arizona, Senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle trying to play with the Latino vote.  Let those thoughts simmer and we’ll come back to that. We’ll take a look at music as a way to examines some of our feelings about America.

During the 2006 United States immigration reform protest a group of Spanish speaking musicians to show support for Hispanic immigration. This song featured a modernized beat and a departure from the traditional musical setting of the “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

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There is a Code, approved by Congress that defines the way that our national anthem should always be performed.  This code outlines the appropriate times to perform this song, the key and the specific tempo in which to perform this song.

According to the code very few people every perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” the “correct” way. If you want to make a stand that this Spanish language version is not appropriate, that’s fine just make sure you include other variations as being inappropriate including:

Jimi Hendrix-incorrect instrumentation



Whitney Houston-incorrect meter



And my personal favorites: Igor Stravinsky-incorrect harmony (which led to a police seizure of the music)



I revel in this multiple interpretations of the national anthem. Like the beautiful multiplicity of American culture, these version reflect the people and experiences that constantly redefine what it means to be American.

I believe that the way that we react to art is a reflection of the way that we react to other things in our lives and the way we feel about “The Star-Spangled Banner” reflects the way we feel about America.

Before you start arguing for an English speaking, Christian and Caucasian ideal of America please consider the beauty in the variations in our beautiful National Anthem.  If you think that people should perform this song one way and that Americans all should be Caucasian and Christian that's fine.  You have the right to create that community, but you don't need everyone in America to be that way for you to have that experience.  

America is not defined by a language, a religion or a race, it's defined by the idea that we have the freedom to chose the way we want to live whether it's in a all prodminantly African-American community or a going to a church filed with interracial couples.  It's in embracing this freedom that we find our greatest strengths, our truest spirit and our love for America.