Nuestro Himno

The Hispanic Community in the US is speaking up, and not everyone seems to like it. On May 1st, hispanic immigrant workers paralyzed the country with a nationwide strike, in protest of new immigration laws. The same day Nuestro Himno, a Spanish version of the US national anthem, was released by latin label UBO. After a week, it's getting huge airplay on Latin radio stations, not only because of the all-star cast (Olga Tañon, Gloria Trevi, N'Klabe, Ivy Queen, Pitbull,... even Wyclef Jean) but also because of the political statement attached to the song.

The hymn is causing a lot of controversy: president Bush has already condemned the song, saying:

I'm not a supporter of boycots[...] I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English.

Even other hispanic artists (like Los Tigres Del Norte) have criticized Nuestro Himno, and rival record labels called it "a promotional stunt" for UBO's upcoming cd 'Somos Americanos' (We Are Americans). UBO reacts, stating they donate most of their profits to pro-immigrant organisations.

So if you want to hear what the fuss is about: here you can listen to the song and read the (altered) lyrics. My personal opinion: I think conservative America should realise that without immigrant workers, their highly valued economy will crumble down to pieces. They should respect immigrants, legal and illegal. And the Belgian national anthem is written in two languages, so why would a Spanish version of the US anthem be so wrong?

Source: Reuters, Yahoo, National Public Radio