In 1945, El Salvador created a postage stamp commemorating its national anthem and its composer. I love postage stamps that honor specific works of music. For instance, some stamps feature popular songs like my Christmas post about the song Silent Night. On the other hand, some honor large musical works like symphonies or operas, like Aida. I believe that stamps are first and foremost political documents and typically serve as a vehicle for messages from the issuing country. Therefore, it is no surprise that the most common stamps of this type are those honoring national anthems.
While countries all over the world have national anthem stamps, in particular, they are popular among Latin American countries. For example, you can find about other stamps on posts dedicated to the national anthems of Guatemala, Uruguay, and Chile.
Juan José Cañas
The lyrics for the himno nacional or national anthem of El Salvador were written by Juan José Cañas. He was a poet, military leader, doctor, and politician who was born in the city of San Miguel in 1826. Cañas went to universities in Nicaragua and Guatemala to study medicine. Cañas would go to California in 1848 due to the excitement around the Gold Rush. However, failing there, in 1852 he returned to El Salvador where he became a leading intellectual and poet.
El Salvador at the time was in nearly constant warfare with neighboring countries in Central America. As a result, Cañas would join the military and gain notoriety in battles in Nicaragua. He rose to the rank of general and was the commander of the port of La Libertad. In 1872, Cañas became the governor of San Salvador and spent the rest of his career in politics. He died in 1918. Read more about Cañas here.
The 1945 stamp honors Cañas as an important El Salvadoran. It also lists him as the author of the lyrics for the National Anthem. It was printed by the American Bank Note Company.
Scott Number SV 590
The National Anthem
El Salvadoran president Rafael Zaldívar asked Cañas to write words for a national anthem. The music was written by the Italian musician Juan Aberle. The premiere of their anthem took place on September 15, 1879. While the song was in widespread usage, it only became the official anthem on Dec. 11, 1953. There has been criticism over the tune for its similarity to the William Tell Overture.
While the anthem has several verses, only the chorus and the first verse are regularly used.
Spanish Text
CORO: Saludemos la patria orgullososde hijos suyos podernos llamary juremos la vida animosos,sin descanso a su bien consagrar. Consagrar, consagrar.
PRIMERA ESTROFA De la paz en la dicha suprema,Siempre noble soñó El Salvador; Fue obtenerla su eterno problema,Conservarla es su gloria mayor. Y con fe inquebrantable el caminoDel progreso se afana en seguirPor llenar su grandioso destino,Conquistarse un feliz porvenir. Le protege una férrea barreraContra el choque de ruin deslealtad,Desde el día que en su alta banderaCon su sangre escribió: ¡LIBERTAD! Escribió: ¡LIBERTAD!
English Translation
Chorus: Let us salute the Fatherland,Proud to be called its children,And let us spiritedly swear our livesTo consecrate its good without rest! 𝄇𝄆 Consecrate, consecrate! 𝄇
FIRST VERSE: Of the peace in the supreme happiness Ever noble El Salvador dreamed; To achieve this has been Her eternal proposition, To keep it, Her greatest glory. And with unwavering faith, the path of progress She strives to follow, to follow, to fulfill Her greatest destiny and conquer a happy future. A stern barrier protects Her against the clash of vile disloyalty, ever since the day when Her soaring Flag, wrote “LIBERTY!” with Its blood. Wrote: LIBERTY!
Hi Jay
Thanks for this post on the Ecuadoran National Anthem.
Perhaps you can clear something up for me. My research had shown that the words to the Anthem were written by Juan Leon Mera, with music by Antonio Neumane. The Wikipedia article on the anthem says the words were written in 1865 at the request of the Ecuadoran Senate, but not adopted until 1948 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salve,_Oh_Patria). So I went on to research Juan José Cañas, and Wikipedia suggests that he is known “for possibly having written the Himno Nacional de El Ecuador … with music by Juan Alberle” The article on Wikipedia is a stub, so is incomplete.
There seems to be some confusion about all of this … any comments?
Thanks
Yme
Interesting question. First, I want to point out that the post is about the El Salvadoran National Anthem and not Ecuadoran – and I have not done any research regarding the national anthem of the latter. I do not think there is a debate about the lyrics for the national anthem of El Salvador and this stamp even says it is in honor of the author of the lyrics of the piece. Sorry I can’t say anything about Ecuador.
Well I feel a little foolish … I don’t know where my mind went as I wrote my response to your post. Of course you wrote about El Salvador, not Ecuador. I’m going to put this down to a “senior moment” or a “brain fart”
Thanks for these posts … I really do enjoy your writing
Yme