The "National Anthem of Honduras" (Spanish

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...

 Himno Nacional de Honduras) was adopted under presidential decree 42 in 1915. The lyrics were written by Augusto Constancio Coello

Augusto Coello

Augusto Constantino Coello Estévez was a Honduran-born writer. Coello wrote the lyrics for the National Anthem of Honduras....

 and the music composed by Carlos Hartling

Carlos Hartling

Carlos Hartling was a German-born composer from Honduras, who composed the music for the National Anthem of Honduras, adopted as the country's national anthem in 1915. Their parents were Georg Friedrich Hartlíng and Johanne Henriete Wilhemine Hartling. He realized his studies in the Weimar and...

. In its entirety, the anthem is a brief chronology of Honduran history. The anthem consists of the chorus and seven verses. But, for official acts, only the chorus and the seventh are sung. The chorus, which is sung before and after the seventh verse, is a description of Honduras' chief national symbols, the flag and the coat of arms. The eighth verse, is a patriotic call to duty to Hondurans to defend the flag and the nation. By the time Hondurans complete their sixth year of elementary education, they will have memorized and been taught the meaning of all eight verses. Unofficially, the anthem is sometimes called "Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo" (Spanish

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...

 for "Your flag is a splendor of sky") which is also the first line of the chorus.

Lyrics

Coro: Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo Por un bloque de nieve cruzado; Y se ven en su fondo sagrado Cinco estrellas de pálido azul; En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso Con sus ondas bravías escuda, De un volcán tras la cima desnuda Hay un astro de nítida luz.	Chorus: Your flag is a splendor of sky Crossed with a band of snow; And there can be seen, in its sacred depths, Five pale blue stars. In your emblem, which a rough sea With its wild waves shields, Behind the bare summit of a volcano, There is a star of clean light.
Estrofa I: India virgen y hermosa dormías De tus mares al canto sonoro, Cuando echada en tus cuencas de oro El audaz navegante te halló; Y al mirar tu belleza extasiado Al influjo ideal de tu encanto, La orla azul de tu espléndido manto Con un beso de amor consagró.	Verse I: Indian maiden, virgin and beautiful you slept, Of your seas to the resonant song, When lying in your valleys of gold, The bold navigator Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...  found you; And on seeing your enrapturing beauty, To the inflowing ideal of your enchantment, The blue hem of your splendid mantle With a kiss of love blessed.
Estrofa II: De un país donde el sol se levanta, Mas allá del Atlante azulado, Aquel hombre te había soñado Y en tu busca a la mar se lanzó. Cuando erguiste la pálida frente, En la viva ansiedad de tu anhelo, Bajo el dombo gentil de tu cielo Ya flotaba un extraño pendón.	Verse II: From a country where the sun rises, Beyond the blue Atlantic Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area... , That man who had dreamt you In search of you he launched to sea. When you raised your pale forehead, In the lively anxiousness of your hope, Under the gentle dome of your sky Already floated a strange banner.
Estrofa III: Era inutil que el indio tu amado Se aprestara a la lucha con ira, Porque envuelto en su sangre Lempira, En la noche profunda se hundió; Y de la épica hazaña, en memoria, La leyenda tan sólo ha guardado De un sepulcro el lugar ignorado Y el severo perfil de un peñón.	Verse III: It was useless that your beloved Indian Rushed into the fight with ire, Because, covered with his blood, Lempira Lempira Lempira may refer to:* Lempira , 16th century leader of the Lenca peoples of Central America, who led local resistance against the Spanish conquistadores* Honduran lempira, unit of currency... , In the deep night he sank; And of the heroic deed, in memory, The legend alone has kept A sepulcher in a forgotten place, And the severe profile of a mountain peak.
Estrofa IV: Por tres siglos tus hijos oyeron El mandato imperioso del amo; Por tres siglos tu inútil reclamo En la atmosfera azul se perdió; Pero un día de gloria tu oído Percibió, poderoso y distante, Que allá lejos, por sobre el Atlante, Indignado rugía un León.	Verse IV: For three centuries your children heard The imperious mandate of the master; For three centuries your useless complaint In the blue atmosphere was lost But one glorious day your ear Perceived, powerful and distant, That there, far away, over the Atlantic, Indignantly, a lion roared
Estrofa V: Era Francia, la libre, la heroica, Que en su sueño de siglos dormida Despertaba iracunda a la vida Al reclamo viril de Dantón: Era Francia, que enviaba a la muerte La cabeza del Rey consagrado, Y que alzaba soberbia a su lado, El altar de la diosa razón.	Verse V: It was France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... , the free, the heroic, Which in its dreams of centuries slept, Awoke irate to life At the virile protest of Danton Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the... : It was France, who sent to the death The head of the consecrated King Louis XVI of France Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793.... , And which built up proudly at its side, The altar of the goddess of Reason.
Estrofa VI: Tú también, ¡oh mi patria!, te alzaste De tu sueño servil y profundo; Tú también enseñaste al mundo Destrozando el infame eslabón. Y en tu suelo bendito, tras la alta Cabellera de monte salvaje, Como un ave de negro plumaje, La colonia fugaz se perdió	Verse VI: You also, oh my country!, arose From your servile deep sleep; You also showed the world Destroying the infamous shackle. And in your blessed soil, behind the tall Hair of the wild jungle, Like a bird of black feathers, The fleeting colony was lost.
Estrofa VII: Por guardar ese emblema divino, Marcharemos Oh! Patria a la muerte, Generosa será nuestra suerte, Si morimos pensando en tu amor. Defendiendo tu santa bandera Y en sus pliegues gloriosos cubiertos, Serán muchos, Honduras tus muertos, Pero todos caerán con honor.	Verse VII To guard this divine emblem We shall march, oh fatherland, to the death; Our luck will be generous If we die thinking of your love. Defending your holy flag, And shrouded in its glorious folds, There will be many, Honduras, your dead, But all shall fall with honor.

External links

• Honduras national anthem's vocal and instrumental versions in MP3 format