Kelley
Although I have been unable to substantiate this claim, I am willing to bet that the National Anthem of Honduras is the longest national anthem in the world. When all seven verses are sung, along with the chorus, it takes a good 20 minutes to get through...closer to 30 minutes when you sing it at the appropriate tempo. The lyrics are really lovely and poetic, though.

In a conscious effort to curb my natural tendency towards super long posts, I am only going to post the chorus and 7th verse, which is what is sung normally (kind of like how the Aggie War Hymn technically has 2 verses, but people only ever know the 2nd verse). That way you can see how lovely their anthem is.

CORO:
Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo (Your flag is a splendor of sky)
Por un bloque de nieve cruzado (Crossed with a band of snow)
Y se ven en su fondo sagrado (And in its sacred depths there can be seen)
Cinco estrellas de palido azul (Five pale blue stars)
En tu emblema, que un mar rumoroso (In your emblem, which a rough sea)
Con sus ondas bravias escuda (Shields with its wild waves,)
De un volcan tras la cima desnuda (Behind the bare summit of a volcano)
Hay un astro de nitida luz (There is a star of clean light)

ESTROFA 7
Por guarder ese emblema divino (To guard this divine emblem)
Marcharemos, oh Patria, a la muerte. (We will march, Oh fatherland, to the death.)
Generosa sera nuestra suerte (Our luck will be generous)
Si morimos pensando en tu amor. (If we die thinking of your love.)
Defendiendo tu santo bandera (Defending your holy flag)
Y en tus pliegues gloriosos cubiertos (And shrouded in its glorious folds)
Seran muchos, Honduras tus muertos (There will be many, Honduras, your dead)
Pero todo caeran con honor. (But all will fall with honor.)

Isn't that pretty? When this is sung, you begin and end with the chorus, like a really long and patriotic musical sandwich. So even the one verse on its own is probably the longest national anthem. In order to graduate, every senior in Honduras must memorize all seven verses, as well as 100 questions and their answers about various parts of the anthem. They are given a test in which a verse, and a certain number of questions are drawn randomly. The student must then perform their chosen verse and then answer the questions, verbatim, with the answer given in the booklet. If the answer is not verbatim, it is not correct. As one of my coworkers says: "Who says schools in Honduras don't raise independent thinkers? We have been independent since 1838!"
5 Responses
  1. Anonymous Says:

    Thank you for the good writeup. It actually used to be a amusement account it.
    Look complex to far introduced agreeable from you!
    By the way, how could we be in contact?

    My web page :: paläodiät
    my web site > paläo ernährung


  2. Anonymous Says:

    Fantastic goods from you, man. I've understand your stuff previous to and you're just too wonderful.
    I actually like what you've acquired here, really like what you're saying and the way in which you say it.
    You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to keep it sensible.
    I cant wait to read much more from you. This is really a great web
    site.

    Here is my webpage: kohlenhydratarme lebensmittel liste
    my web page: quick weight loss tips


  3. Anonymous Says:

    Hi, I do think this is a great web site. I stumbledupon it ;) I may
    revisit yet again since I saved as a favorite it.
    Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and
    continue to guide others.

    Also visit my web-site - paläo ernährung


  4. Anonymous Says:

    It's enormous that you are getting thoughts from this piece of writing as well as from our argument made here.

    My site: dr oetker rezepte
    my webpage: rezept für kohlenhydratarmes brot


  5. Anonymous Says:

    First off I want to say terrific blog! I had a quick question in
    which I'd like to ask if you don't mind. I was interested to
    find out how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing.

    I have had a hard time clearing my thoughts in getting
    my ideas out. I do enjoy writing however it just seems like the
    first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted simply just trying to
    figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips? Cheers!

    My web-site :: lenkmatte 4 leiner anleitung


Post a Comment