1.Paraguayan law requires schoolchildren to sing the anthem every Monday morning at the start of the school week, making it one of the most frequently performed anthems in daily life
2.The full anthem has an introduction, six verses, and a chorus, but only the introduction and first verse are typically sung at official events
3.Paraguay is one of the few countries where the anthem is widely known in two languages: Spanish and Guarani, reflecting the country's official bilingualism
Lyrics
Only the introduction and chorus are typically performed at official events
A los pueblos de América, infausto,
Tres centurias un cetro oprimió,
Mas un día soberbia surgiendo,
¡Basta!... dijo, y el cetro rompió.
Nuestros padres, lidiando grandiosos,
Ilustraron su gloria marcial;
Y trozada la augusta diadema,
Enalzaron el gorro triunfal.
[Coro]
Paraguayos, ¡República o Muerte!
Nuestro brío nos dio libertad;
Ni opresores, ni siervos alientan,
Donde reinan unión, e igualdad.
A los pueblos de América, infausto,
Tres centurias un cetro oprimió,
Mas un día soberbia surgiendo,
¡Basta!... dijo, y el cetro rompió.
Nuestros padres, lidiando grandiosos,
Ilustraron su gloria marcial;
Y trozada la augusta diadema,
Enalzaron el gorro triunfal.
[Coro]
Paraguayos, ¡República o Muerte!
Nuestro brío nos dio libertad;
Ni opresores, ni siervos alientan,
Donde reinan unión, e igualdad.
Nuevo mundo, Colón te descubre,
Y postrado ante ti todo el orbe,
Admirando tu faz, que se absorbe
En la grata visión de su Edén.
Pero España codicia pretende
Dominar esta selva virgen,
Que otros pueblos más fuertes defienden
Y más libres que aspiran a ser.
[Coro]
Tres centurias en hierro te forjas,
Te acongojas de una ruda prisión;
Sin cesar esas voces oías:
"¡Son tus días los de la opresión!"
Hasta que un día las masas surgieron
Y dijeron al mundo a una voz:
"¡Somos libres!" Repiten los ecos;
"¡Somos libres!" Del hombre la voz.
[Coro]
De la tumba del vil feudalismo
Se alza libre la patria deidad;
Opresores, doblad la rodilla;
Libertarios, ceñid el laurel.
Paraguayos, lo que nuestros padres
Con la sangre y sudor nos legaron,
No lo hagáis que tiranos mañosos
Os lo arrebaten de vuestro poder.
[Coro]
To the peoples of America, unfortunate,
Three centuries a scepter oppressed,
But one day, rising with pride,
Enough! it said, and broke the scepter.
Our fathers, fighting grandly,
Illustrated their martial glory;
And, the august diadem broken,
They raised the triumphal cap.
[Chorus]
Paraguayans, Republic or Death!
Our spirit gave us freedom;
Neither oppressors nor servants breathe
Where union and equality reign.
To the peoples of America, unfortunate,
Three centuries a scepter oppressed,
But one day, rising with pride,
Enough! it said, and broke the scepter.
Our fathers, fighting grandly,
Illustrated their martial glory;
And, the august diadem broken,
They raised the triumphal cap.
[Chorus]
Paraguayans, Republic or Death!
Our spirit gave us freedom;
Neither oppressors nor servants breathe
Where union and equality reign.
New world, Columbus discovers you,
And prostrate before you the entire globe,
Admiring your face, which is absorbed
In the pleasant vision of its Eden.
But Spain greedily seeks
To dominate this virgin forest,
Which other stronger peoples defend
And freer ones aspire to be.
[Chorus]
Three centuries you forge yourself in iron,
You grieve in a harsh prison;
Ceaselessly you heard those voices:
"Your days are those of oppression!"
Until one day the masses rose
And said to the world in one voice:
"We are free!" The echoes repeat;
"We are free!" The voice of man.
[Chorus]
From the tomb of vile feudalism
The fatherland deity rises free;
Oppressors, bend your knee;
Liberators, gird the laurel.
Paraguayans, what our fathers
With blood and sweat bequeathed us,
Do not let cunning tyrants
Snatch it from your power.
[Chorus]
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Show full poemShow official version
Analysis
Editorial
One of the longest national anthems in the world. Written by Francisco Acuna de Figueroa (who also wrote the Uruguayan anthem) with music attributed to Francisco Jose Debali in 1846. The anthem celebrates Paraguay's independence from Spain, achieved in 1811.
