Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Puerto Rico: The Quest for a “National” Anthem

2017; Shima Publishing; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.21463/shima.11.2.15

1834-6057

Valérie Vézina,

Military History and Strategy

Since the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Puerto Rico has been under the control of the United States.As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico has a separate identity that manifests itself in various ways.One of the most evident ones is through language, Spanish being the lingua franca for more than 90% of Puerto Ricans.But its nationalist stance is also found in symbols, such as its anthem.Although Puerto Rico adopted an official anthem in 1952, there has been a continuing quest for one that truly expresses the territory.The 'Star-Spangled Banner' is sometimes played but there is a more interesting story regarding 'La Borinqueña', the official anthem of Puerto Rico.Two opposing versions of this anthem exist.What is the story behind them?What is the meaning of each of those versions?Which version is the official version?This paper will address those questions and link them to the particular political status of Puerto Rico.