A Portuguesa

A Portuguesa

English: The Portuguese Song Music sheet and lyrics (1957).
National Anthem of	Portugal
Lyrics	Henrique Lopes de Mendonça, 1890
Music	Alfredo Keil, 1890
Adopted	5 October 1910 (de facto) 19 July 1911 (de jure)
A Portuguesa (instrumental)

A Portuguesa (English: The Portuguese Song), pronounced [ɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ], is the national anthem of Portugal. It was composed by Alfredo Keil and written by Henrique Lopes de Mendonça during the nationalist resurgence movement ignited by the British Ultimatum, in the late 19th century. Adopted as the march of the failed January 1891 republican rebellion, it was proclaimed as the new national anthem of the Portuguese Republic in 1911, replacing O Hino da Carta (English: The Charter Anthem), the anthem of the extinct constitutional monarchy regime.

The title A Portuguesa means "the Portuguese (song)" – the Portuguese word for "song", canção, being feminine – just as La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France, is "the song of Marseille", the Belgian anthem, The Brabançonne is "the song of Brabant", and L'Internationale, the Socialist anthem, is "the international (song)".

History

On 11 January 1890, the United Kingdom issued an ultimatum demanding Portugal to give up its intentions of occupying the lands between the African colonies of Angola, on the western coast, and Mozambique, on the eastern coast, thus joining the two territories as proposed on the Pink Map. Despite popular uproar, the Portuguese government was forced to accept the British terms. This measure contributed to the growing unpopularity of King Carlos I and the monarchy, and gained supporters for the already boosting republican movement.^[1]

Copy of the original 1890 music sheet.

The night after the ultimatum, composer Alfredo Keil elaborated the melody for A Portuguesa as patriotic-inspired protest march, as a suggestion of a group of friends that included the likes of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro and Teófilo Braga. Inspired by the mutual feeling of outrage among the people, writer Henrique Lopes de Mendonça answered positively to Keil's request and created a poem for his melody. In the words of Mendonça, A Portuguesa was intended to be a song "where the fatherland's wounded soul would merge with its ambitions of freedom and revival", an anthem aiming to be fully embraced by the people and that could carry the sentiment of national revindication. Such characteristics were epitomized in musical references like La Marsellaise, fado and Hino da Maria da Fonte (English: Maria da Fonte Anthem).^[2] The march was quickly divulged, as several thousands of copies of the sheet were freely distributed together with fliers and posters. This spread crossed national borders with verses being translated to other languages.^[2]

On several stages in Lisbon, A Portuguesa deserved special attention. On 29 March 1890, the march is performed at the Great Patriotic Concert, held in Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (English: Saint Charles National Theatre), as well as in every other theatre in the capital. Alongside its use in cultural displays, A Portuguesa was also exploited by the commerce. Several food products, like canned sardines or cookies, were named after this song.^[2]

However, the growing popularity among the people, unhappy with what they considered a submissive and humiliating attitude by the Portuguese authorities, was seen as a political weapon, and the patriotic chant was soon converted into a republican hymn. The ensuing political subversion of the theme's original meaning forced both authors to later publicly refute this vision and highlight its pure non-partidary patriotic sentiment.^[2] On 31 January 1891, a republican-inspired rebellion broke out in the northern city of Porto and A Portuguesa was adopted by the rebels as their marching anthem. The rebellion was crushed and the song definitely banned from all official and solemn celebrations. However, it was never forgotten, and in 5 October 1910, a new and stronger rebellion developed at the rhythm of its notes. The revolution ended with the overthrow of the centuries-old monarchy and established a republican regime which saw A Portuguesa as the meritorious national anthem, as opposed to the monarchic O Hino da Carta. A year later, the first session of the Constituent Assembly officially proclaimed this status.^[1]

In 1956, the emergence and establishment of melodical variants of the anthem, forced the government to create a committee whose aim was to define an official version. On 16 July 1957, the current version was proposed to and approved by the Council of Ministers.^[1]

Protocol

On national ground, the anthem is officially played at civilian and military ceremonies where the country, flag or head of state (President of the Republic) is honored. It is also played at official welcoming receptions for foreign heads of state, following that of the visitor, and in solemn ceremonies during official presidential visits to other countries.^[1]

Lyrics

The anthem's official version consists of only the first stanza and chorus from Mendonça's poem. The last line of the chorus — "Contra os canhões marchar, marchar!" (English: Against the cannons, march, march!) — is a late alteration of the original "Contra os bretões marchar, marchar" (English: Against the Britons, march, march!), an angered reference to the British ultimatum.^[3]

References

External links

• A Portuguesa — A fan site dedicated to the anthem.

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