1.The original manuscript of the anthem's score was lost for decades and only rediscovered in the National Library of Peru in the early 20th century.
2.Peru's anthem originally had six stanzas with graphic descriptions of battle violence; the lyrics were toned down in an official 2009 revision by the Constitutional Tribunal.
3.The opening words 'Somos libres' (We are free) have become such an iconic national catchphrase that they appear on Peruvian coins, murals, and protest banners alike.
Lyrics
Only the chorus and the first verse are customarily sung
[Coro]
Somos libres, seámoslo siempre,
Seámoslo siempre,
Y antes niegue sus luces el sol,
Que faltemos al voto solemne
Que la patria al Eterno elevó.
Largo tiempo el peruano oprimido
La ominosa cadena arrastró;
Condenado a una cruel servidumbre,
Largo tiempo en silencio gimió.
Mas apenas el grito sagrado
¡Libertad! En sus costas se oyó,
La indolencia de esclavo sacude,
La humillada cerviz levantó.
[Coro]
Somos libres, seámoslo siempre,
Seámoslo siempre,
Y antes niegue sus luces el sol,
Que faltemos al voto solemne
Que la patria al Eterno elevó.
Largo tiempo el peruano oprimido
La ominosa cadena arrastró;
Condenado a una cruel servidumbre,
Largo tiempo en silencio gimió.
Mas apenas el grito sagrado
¡Libertad! En sus costas se oyó,
La indolencia de esclavo sacude,
La humillada cerviz levantó.
[Coro]
Ya el estruendo de broncas cadenas
Que escuchamos tres siglos de horror,
De los libres al grito sagrado
Que oyó atónito el mundo, cesó.
Por doquier San Martín inflamado,
Libertad, libertad, pronunció,
Y meciendo su base los Andes
La anunciaron, también, a una voz.
[Coro]
Con su influjo los pueblos despiertan
Y cual rayo corrió la opinión;
Desde el istmo a las tierras del fuego,
Desde el fuego a la helada región.
Todos juran romper el enlace
Que natura a ambos mundos negó,
Y quebrar ese cetro que España
Reclinaba orgullosa en los dos.
[Coro]
Lima, cumple ese voto solemne,
Y, severa, su enojo mostró,
Al tirano impotente lanzando,
Que intentaba alargar su opresión.
A su esfuerzo saltaron los grillos
Y los surcos que en sí reparó,
Le atizaron su odio y venganza
Que heredara de su Inca y Señor.
[Coro]
Compatriotas, no más verla esclava,
Si humillada tres siglos gimió,
Para siempre jurémosla libre
Manteniendo su propio esplendor.
Nuestros brazos, hasta hoy desarmados,
Estén siempre cebando el cañón,
Que algún día las playas de Iberia
Sentirán de su estruendo el pavor.
[Coro]
Excitemos los celos de España
Pues presiente con mengua y furor
Que en concurso de grandes naciones
Nuestra patria entrará en parangón.
En la lista que se forme de todas
La encontremos en mejor posición,
Y en la faz de la tierra sea una
De las libres, que crezca a favor.
[Coro]
[Chorus]
We are free, let us always be so,
Let us always be so,
And let the sun sooner deny its light
Than that we fail the solemn vow
That the homeland raised to the Eternal.
For a long time the oppressed Peruvian
Dragged the ominous chain;
Condemned to a cruel servitude,
For a long time he groaned in silence.
But as soon as the sacred cry of
Freedom! Was heard on its shores,
He shook off the indolence of the slave,
And raised his humiliated head.
[Chorus]
We are free, let us always be so,
Let us always be so,
And let the sun sooner deny its light
Than that we fail the solemn vow
That the homeland raised to the Eternal.
For a long time the oppressed Peruvian
Dragged the ominous chain;
Condemned to a cruel servitude,
For a long time he groaned in silence.
But as soon as the sacred cry of
Freedom! Was heard on its shores,
He shook off the indolence of the slave,
And raised his humiliated head.
[Chorus]
Now the clamor of rough chains
That we heard for three centuries of horror,
At the sacred cry of the free
That the astonished world heard, has ceased.
Everywhere San Martin, inflamed,
Pronounced: Freedom, freedom!
And the Andes, shaking at their base,
Announced it too, in one voice.
[Chorus]
With his influence the peoples awaken
And opinion ran like lightning;
From the isthmus to the lands of fire,
From the fire to the frozen region.
All swear to break the bond
That nature denied to both worlds,
And to break that scepter that Spain
Proudly reclined upon both.
[Chorus]
Lima fulfills that solemn vow,
And, sternly, showed its anger,
Hurling the impotent tyrant
Who attempted to extend his oppression.
At its effort the shackles burst
And the furrows that in itself it saw
Stoked its hatred and vengeance
Inherited from its Inca and Lord.
[Chorus]
Compatriots, no more seeing her enslaved;
If humiliated she groaned for three centuries,
Let us forever swear her free,
Maintaining her own splendor.
Our arms, unarmed until today,
May they always be feeding the cannon,
For someday the shores of Iberia
Shall feel the terror of its thunder.
[Chorus]
Let us excite the jealousy of Spain,
For she senses with diminishment and fury
That in a contest of great nations
Our homeland shall enter in comparison.
In the list that is formed of all,
May we find her in the best position,
And on the face of the earth may she be one
Of the free, that grows in favor.
[Chorus]
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
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Analysis
Editorial
One of the oldest anthems in South America, written by Jose de la Torre Ugarte with music by Jose Bernardo Alcedo. Adopted in 1821 when Peru declared independence from Spain. The anthem was commissioned by independence leader Jose de San Martin.