Desecrating America

An Anthem's Discordant Notes
Spanish Version of 'Star-Spangled Banner' Draws Strong Reactions

By David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 28, 2006; Page A01

Oh say can you see -- a la luz de la aurora?

The national anthem that once endured the radical transformation administered by Jimi Hendrix's fuzzed and frantic Stratocaster now faces an artistic dare at least as extreme: translation into Spanish.

The new take is scheduled to hit the airwaves today. It's called "Nuestro Himno" -- "Our Anthem" -- and it was recorded over the past week by Latin pop stars including Ivy Queen, Gloria Trevi, Carlos Ponce, Tito "El Bambino," Olga Tañon and the group Aventura. Joining and singing in Spanish is Haitian American artist Wyclef Jean.

The different voices contribute lines the way 1985's "We Are the World" was put together by an ensemble of stars. The national anthem's familiar melody and structure are preserved, while the rhythms and instrumentation come straight out of Latin pop.

Can "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the republic for which it stands, survive? Outrage over what's being called "The Illegal Alien Anthem" is already building in the blogosphere and among conservative commentators.

Timed to debut the week Congress returned to debate immigration reform, with the country riven by the issue, "Nuestro Himno" is intended to be an anthem of solidarity for the movement that has drawn hundreds of thousands of people to march peacefully for immigrant rights in Washington and cities across the country, says Adam Kidron, president of Urban Box Office, the New York-based entertainment company that launched the project.

"It's the one thing everybody has in common, the aspiration to have a relationship with the United States . . . and also to express gratitude and patriotism to the United States for providing the opportunity," says Kidron.

The song was being prepared for e-mailing as MP3 packages to scores of Latino radio stations and other media last night, and Kidron was calling for stations to play the song simultaneously at 7 Eastern time this evening.

However, the same advance buzz that drew singers to scramble for inclusion in the recording sessions this week in New York, Miami, Texas, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic has also spurred critics who say rendering the song in Spanish is a rejection of assimilation into the United States.

This is desecration pure and simple. If they do this, I hope someone puts a bullet in their heads. This is the United States of America, not la Estados Unidos de America. English is our national language, not Spanish, not "Spanglish." If you want to speak Spanish, there is a place for you to do so, just to the south of the border. Singing some bastardized version of our National Anthem in Spanish is an insult to America, its people, and all of those who fought and died to defend this nation.

If these people want my sympathy, they are going about it in exactly the wrong way. If you reject my American culture, if you reject our society, if you reject our language, you have no business being here and you need to leave.

If there are massed marches on Monday, the "Emigres" need to round them all up and deport them. Why is it okay for them to wave their Mexican flags in our faces and not be found guilty of inciting to riot?

I fail to understand this, they claim 12 million, I believe it's more like 20 million, why don't they go back to their country and change things there. Maybe we need to form more "Minute Man" groups to circulate through the "Hispanic" neighborhoods with cameras and document those illegals who are in our communities.

Full Story: English, or OUT!

What do you think?

To leave your opinion click on the word "COMMENT(S)" below