Spain almost has lyrics for its national anthem
Spain is one of the very few countries that doesn't have lyrics to it's national anthem; Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kuwait and San Marino are others. When I first found out, I wasn't surprised and it made me laugh. Few locals seem to have strong sentiments about this. When I asked my Spanish friends, reactions were mixed -- some laughed about it, others were embarrassed but didn't really dwell on it. Spain is quite 'whatever' when it comes to things like this -- I suppose there are more important national issues at stake.
Set to a tune from the 18th Century, it's words were unanimously abandoned when Spanish dictator Franco died (1978). Since then, all Spaniards manage to muster is a 'la la la la' when they win a national or international championship/trophy. Quite embarrassing when you have to hum from a podium because your national song doesn't have any words.
So three months ago the government along with the Spanish Olympic Committee (SOC) launched a competition for the lyrics and they have received about 5,000 entries. The decision will be announced on December 19 -- I can't wait to see the country react to the decision. Madrid is bidding for the 2016 Olympics, which is a good excuse to sort itself out as soon as possible,
These random eccentricities of Spain is what makes me love the country.
[Via CNN]
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Europe, Spain
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Oct 27th 2007 @ 11:58PM
lacy said...
typo, 'it's' mean 'it is'.
the proper form is 'its'.