richard - Ecuadorian Literature

Ecuador’s National Anthem Lyrics

Translated to English by Richard Gabela on April 19, 2024, from the original work “Himno Nacional del Ecuador” (1865) by Juan León Mera (1832-1894) of Ambato, Ecuador.

Ecuador’s National Anthem Lyrics

Chorus:
Hail, O Homeland, a thousand times hail!
O Homeland, glory to you! Your heart overflows
with joy and peace, and your radiant face
shines brighter than the sun we behold.

I
Indignant, your children rose against the yoke
imposed by Iberian audacity,
against the unjust and horrendous suffering
that fatally weighed upon you.
They raised a holy voice to the heavens,
a voice of noble and unmatched commitment,
to avenge you from the bloody monster,
to break that servile yoke.

Chorus

II (official verse)
The first, the sons of the soil
which Pichincha proudly adorns,
acclaimed you as their eternal lady,
and shed their blood for you.
God saw and accepted the sacrifice,
and that blood was the fruitful seed
of other heroes whom the world, astonished,
saw rise around you by the thousands.

Chorus

III
Against the iron arm of these heroes,
no land was invincible,
and from the valley to the highest sierra,
the roar of battle could be heard.
After the battle, victory flew,
freedom followed the triumph,
and the lion, broken,
was heard roaring in helplessness and despair.

Chorus

IV
At last, Spanish ferocity yielded,
and today, O Homeland, your free existence
is the noble and magnificent heritage
given to us by felicitous heroism.
We received it from paternal hands,
let no one attempt to wrest it from us now,
nor does any foolish or audacious one
wish to provoke our vengeful anger against themselves.

Chorus

V
Let no one, O Homeland, attempt it. The shadows
of your glorious heroes watch over us,
and the valor and pride they inspire
are omens of triumphs for you.
Bring forth the iron and the fulminating lead,
for at the thought of war and vengeance
awakens the heroic strength
that made the fierce Spanish succumb.

Chorus

VI
And if new chains are prepared
by the unjustness of barbaric fate,
great Pichincha! may you foresee the death
of the homeland and its children in the end.
Sink swiftly into your deep entrails
all that exists on your land. Let the tyrant
tread only ashes and in vain
seek any trace of being beside you.

Chorus

Translator’s Note: The decision to translate the national anthem of Ecuador, penned by Juan León Mera, a revered writer and poet known for his contributions to Ecuadorian literature, including his influential novel “Cumandá” published in 1879, holds profound cultural and historical significance. Set to music by Antonio Neumane in 1870 and adopted in 1948, this anthem embodies the Ecuadorian spirit of resilience and patriotism, celebrating the nation’s journey towards freedom and sovereignty. Through Mera’s evocative lyrics and Neumane’s stirring composition, the anthem serves as a powerful symbol of unity and pride, inspiring generations of Ecuadorians to stand tall in the face of adversity.

Original Spanish Version

Himno Nacional del Ecuador

Coro:
¡Salve, Oh Patria, mil veces! ¡Oh Patria,
gloria a ti! Ya tu pecho rebosa
gozo y paz, y tu frente radiosa
más que el sol contemplamos lucir.

I
Indignados tus hijos del yugo
que te impuso la ibérica audacia,
de la injusta y horrenda desgracia
que pesaba fatal sobre ti,
santa voz a los cielos alzaron,
voz de noble y sin par juramento,
de vengarte del monstruo sangriento,
de romper ese yugo servil.

Coro

II (verso oficial)
Los primeros, los hijos del suelo
que, soberbio, el Pichincha decora,
te aclamaron por siempre señora
y vertieron su sangre por tí.
Dios miró y aceptó el holocausto
y esa sangre fue germen fecundo
de otros héroes que atónito el mundo
vió en tu torno a millares surgir.

Coro

III
De estos héroes al brazo del hierro
nada tuvo invencible la tierra,
y del valle a la altísima sierra
se escuchaba el fragor de la lid.
Tras la lid, la victoria volaba,
libertad tras el triunfo venía,
y al león destrozado se oía
de impotencia y despecho rugir.

Coro

IV
Cedió al fin la fiereza española,
y hoy, oh Patria, tu libre existencia
es la noble y magnífica herencia
que nos dio el heroísmo feliz.
De las manos paternas la hubimos,
nadie intente arrancárnosla ahora,
ni nuestra ira excitar vengadora
quiera, necio o audaz, contra sí.

Coro

V
Nadie, oh Patria, lo intente. Las sombras
de tus héroes gloriosos nos miran,
y el valor y el orgullo que inspiran
son augurios de triunfos por ti.
Venga el hierro y el plomo fulmíneo,
que a la idea de guerra y venganza
se despierta la heroica pujanza
que hizo al fiero español sucumbir.

Coro

VI
Y si nuevas cadenas prepara
la injusticia de bárbara suerte,
¡gran Pichincha! prevén tú la muerte
de la Patria y sus hijos al fin
Hunde al punto en tus hondas entrañas
cuanto existe en tu tierra, el tirano
huelle solo cenizas y en vano
busque rastro de ser junto a ti.

Coro

Miguel Álava Alcívar

Miguel Álava Alcívar, sometimes Miguel Alavalcívar (Portoviejo, 1988) is an Ecuadorian novelist, poet and philosophy professor. He has lived in Guayaquil for many years. His novels include Universos paralelos (2004), Amada inmortal (2005), El mundo contado al revés (2011) and El Trapecista (2012), which he has referred to as his best work. In 2012 he became a member of the Guayas Chapter of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. He is on the editorial team of the International Journal of Social Science and Economics Invention.

Bruno Sáenz Andrade

Bruno Sáenz Andrade (Quito, September 13, 1944 – Quito, January 11, 2022) was an Ecuadorian writer, poet, essayist and literary critic. He authored numerous books including: “El aprendiz y la palabra,” “Relatos del aprendiz,” “Comedia del cuerpo,” “1944, La promesa y la siega” and “La noche acopia silencios.” A lawyer by profession, in his working life he served as director of the School of Prosecutors in the Public Ministry, as well as Undersecretary of Culture. He was a regular speaker at the House of Ecuadorian Culture, the Benjamín Carrión Cultural Center, and the Rayuela bookstore, among other places. He was an emeritus member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language since 2014. In 2003 his poetry book “Escribe la inicial de tu nombre en el umbral del sueño” won the Jorge Carrera Andrade Award.

Benjamín Ortiz Brennan

Benjamín Ortiz Brennan is an Ecuadorian journalist and writer. He is the author of two well-regarded historical novels: A la sombra del magnolio (2017) and El bicho que se bajó del tren (2021). He has worked as a chronicler for El Tiempo newspaper, news director of Ecuavisa, director of the newspaper Hoy for 17 years, and director of his own strategic communication agency for another 17 years.

Gonzalo Ortiz Crespo

Gonzalo Ortiz Crespo (Quito, October 18, 1944) is an Ecuadorian journalist, essayist, historian and writer. He has written three novels: Los hijos de Daisy (2009), Alfaro en la sombra (2012) and Pecunia non olet (2021), a corruption thriller which made it to Primicia.ec’s 2021 list of “the 10 books by Ecuadorian writers that marked the year.” He is a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language and the National Academy of History. He wrote for the newspapers El Tiempo, Hoy, EL COMERCIO and the magazine Gestión. He has worked as a university professor and has held various posts such as secretary of communication, secretary of the administration of President Rodrigo Borja, and councilor of Quito.

Elías Muñoz Vicuña

Elías Muñoz Vicuña (Yaguachi, Guayas, May 10, 1922 – Guayaquil, February 10, 1997) was an historian, writer, university professor, and member of the Ecuadorian Communist Party. His historical essays include: El 15 de Noviembre de 1922 (1978), Biografía de Olmedo (1980), and Papel Histórico de Vicente Rocafuerte (1983). In 1976 he was appointed professor of Economic, Social and Political History of Ecuador at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Guayaquil; in 1984 he was declared a member of the Institute of Labor Law; and in 1985 member of the Guayas chapter of the House of Ecuadorian Culture, and Visiting Professor of the Institute of Diplomacy of the University of Guayaquil. In 1983 he became a member of the National Academy of History. He traveled to many countries as a representative of the Ecuadorian Communist Party, including to Cuba in 1966 per the invitation of Fidel Castro; and in 1970 at the Centenary of Lenin’s birth in Ecuador, the Soviet Union awarded him with the “Lenin Gold Medal” in a public ceremony. Several educational institutions are named after him in Guayaquil.

Segundo Moreta Morales

Segundo Moreta Morales (Otavalo, Ecuador) is an author, storyteller and intercultural educator. He is the author of the children’s book Juanita the Colorful Butterfly (2015), illustrated by Into Gualapuro and Luis Uksha. Told in Spanish, Kichwa, and English, it tells a charming tale of a butterfly who loses her color when a witch casts a spell on her; Juanita’s nature-dwelling friends help her to become colorful again.

Maria Virginia Farinango

Maria Virginia Farinango (Otavalo, Ecuador) was born in an Indigenous Quichua community near Otavalo, Ecuador. In 2011, she and Laura Resau co-authored the novel The Queen of Water, based on the true story of her girlhood. After many years of running her own Andean crafts business and traveling extensively with her husband, Tino, an Andean musician, Maria Virginia earned a master’s degree in psychology. Maria Virginia now resides in Otavalo with her husband, son, and daughter, where she practices clinical psychology.

Félix Villacís

Félix Abel Villacís del Valle (March 17, 2000) is an Ecuadorian novelist and poet. He has written four books. He worked as an editor for Editorial Déjà Vu and as the director of Editorial Madriguera from 2019 to 2021. His published books include “A la cuenta de tres” (2016), “La vida que me diste” (2018) and “Nudos” (2021). In 2020 he was a finalist of the eighth edition of “Día del libro y de la Rosa.”

Gustavo Garzón

César Gustavo Garzón Guzmán (Quito, June 8, 1958) was an Ecuadorian writer and literary critic who vanished without a trace on November 9, 1990. In 1980, he joined Miguel Donoso Pareja’s literary workshop at the House of Ecuadorian Culture and co-founded the literary group “La Mosca Zumba.” On November 9, 1990, he went out with a group of friends to a dance club and was never seen again. At the time, the 32-year-old writer was living in Quito, Ecuador, where he was working on his doctoral thesis in Literature at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. On January 28, 2021 the Ecuadorian government admitted responsibility for his kidnapping before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. A documentary about his life, “Brutal como el rasgar de un fósforo,” was made in 2021.

Theodore Alan Sackett

Theodore Alan Sackett is an American university professor and Spanish literature scholar. Sackett is widely regarded as one of the foremost literary authorities on the novels of Ecuador’s most famous author, Jorge Icaza, and his work is frequently cited in critical essays and research studies on Icaza’s novels. He wrote an important book-length study on Jorge Icaza’s novels, “El arte en la novelistica de Jorge Icaza,” which was published by the House of Ecuadorian Culture in 1974. He also contributed to Ricardo Descalzi and Renaud Richard’s 1988 critical edition of Jorge Icaza’s novel “El chulla Romero y Flores” (1958), analyzing the composition, lexicon, and stylistics in Icaza’s mestizo-themed masterpiece. He worked as a Spanish professor at the University of Southern California from 1965 to 1996, and then as a professor and Chair of the Spanish department at the University of Nevada, Reno from 1996 to 2002.

Jennie Carrasco Molina

Jennie Carrasco Molina (Ambato, 1955) is an Ecuadorian novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, editor, university professor and holistic therapist. She has worked with the press and on women’s issues. Her works include the short story collection “La diosa en el espejo” (1995), the poetry collection “Arañas en mi vestido de seda” (2001), and the novel “Viaje a ninguna parte” (2004). In 2011 her poetry collection “Confesiones apocalípticas” won the prestigious Jorge Carrera Andrade Prize. Some of her poems have been translated into English.

Enrique Ayala Mora

Enrique Ayala Mora (Ibarra, November 13, 1950) is an Ecuadorian historian, essayist, editor, university professor and politician. He works as a professor at the Central University of Ecuador and the Simón Bolívar Andean University. He was a deputy of Ecuador, vice president of the National Congress and member of the Constituent Assembly (1997-1998). He is currently the President of the Ecuadorian Socialist Party. As an editor and writer, he has published over 30 works on history and politics.

Manuel María Palacios Bravo

Manuel María Palacios Bravo (Cuenca, 1891 – 1960) was an Ecuadorian poet and priest. His best known poems include: Jesús Campesino (1919), Chabita (1922), and Cantos de ayer (1953). He was a member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Language. In 1957, the University of Cuenca released a collection of his poems selected by Rigoberto Cordero y León.