Mexican anthem

Himno Nacional Mexicano

English: Mexican National Anthem
National anthem of  Mexico
Also known as	"Mexicanos, al grito de guerra" English: "Mexicans, at the call of war"
Lyrics	Francisco González Bocanegra, 1853
Music	Jaime Nunó, 1854
Adopted	1943
Audio sample
"Mexican National Anthem" (instrumental) file help

The "Mexican National Anthem" (Spanish: Himno Nacional Mexicano), also known as "Mexicans, at the call of war" (Spanish: Mexicanos, al grito de guerra), is the national anthem of the United Mexican States. The anthem first started being used in 1854, although it was not officially adopted de jure until 1943. The lyrics of the national anthem, which allude to historical Mexican military victories in the heat of battle and including cries of defending the homeland, were composed by poet Francisco González Bocanegra after a Federal contest in 1853. Later in 1854 he asked, Jaime Nunó to compose the music which now accompanies González's poem. The anthem, consisting of ten stanzas and a chorus, effectively entered into use on September 16, 1854.

On November 12, 1853, President Antonio López de Santa Anna announced a competition to write a national anthem for Mexico. The competition offered a prize for the best poetic composition representing patriotic ideals. Francisco González Bocanegra, a talented poet, was not interested in participating in the competition. He argued that writing love poems involved very different skills from the ones required to write a national anthem. His fiancée, Guadalupe González del Pino (or Pili), had undaunted faith in her fiancé's poetic skills and was displeased with his constant refusal to participate in spite of her constant prodding and requests from their friends. Under false pretenses, she lured him to a secluded bedroom in her parents' house, locked him into the room, and refused to let him out until he produced an entry for the competition. Inside the room in which he was temporarily imprisoned were pictures depicting various events in Mexican history which helped to inspire his work. After four hours of fluent (albeit forced) inspiration, Francisco regained his freedom by slipping all ten verses of his creation under the door. After Francisco received approval from his fiancée and her father, he submitted the poem and won the competition by unanimous vote. González was announced the winner in the publication Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) on February 3, 1854.