Asturias, patria querida
Encyclopedia
Asturias, patria querida is the anthem
of the Spanish
autonomous community of Asturias
.
This adaptation of a much slower song from the neighbouring lands of Cantabria
(Madre, cuando voy a leña) was appointed as official anthem after a contest in Oviedo
in the 1890s. It has both a Castilian
and an Asturian
version. It is also a popular melody for bagpipers.
It has been recently discovered that this song was written in Cuba. The father of the author had returned to his beloved Asturias to die, the author - Ignacio Piñeiro
- dedicated the song to his father. The music was different, it is believed to be a melody that Polish miners from the area of Opole Silesia -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
, where it was taught as a patriotic song
A few versions of the anthem were created by the republican side of the Spanish Civil War
, 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 song by the right-wing Nationalists. The song was ridiculed in times of Francisco Franco
, to the point of being considered "the anthem of the drunks", a concept that still exists in some parts of Spain
.
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
autonomous community of Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
.
This adaptation of a much slower song from the neighbouring lands of Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
(Madre, cuando voy a leña) was appointed as official anthem after a contest in Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
in the 1890s. It has both a Castilian
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and an Asturian
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
version. It is also a popular melody for bagpipers.
It has been recently discovered that this song was written in Cuba. The father of the author had returned to his beloved Asturias to die, the author - Ignacio Piñeiro
Ignacio Piñeiro
Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez was a black Cuban musician 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 wrote about 327 numbers, mostly sones.Piñeiro was a brilliant rumbero who worked with musical...
- dedicated the song to his father. The music was different, it is believed to be a melody that Polish miners from the area of Opole Silesia -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
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, where it was taught as a patriotic song
A few versions of the anthem were created by the republican side of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, 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 song by the right-wing Nationalists. The song was ridiculed in times of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, to the point of being considered "the anthem of the drunks", a concept that still exists in some parts of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Lyrics
| Castilian Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the... : |
Asturian Asturian language Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people... : |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... : |
Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... : |
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Polish version
| Polish Polish language Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries... : |
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