Latino Pop Stars Record the 'Star-Spangled Banner' IN SPANISH!!!
How can expect immigrants to assimilate when they refuse to jettison cultural baggage and loyalty to the old country? Here is an example of that divided loyalty. Instead of learning English, some Latinos have gone as far as to translate the 'Star-Spangled Banner' to Spanish.
Mexican pop diva Gloria Trevi, Puerto Rican reggaeton star Don Omar and other Latino artists have recorded a bilingual version of the U.S. national anthem in a show of support for migrants in the United States.
The Latino-oriented record label Urban Box Office (UBO) said Friday it would put the new Spanish-English version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the market Monday to coincide with the U.S. Senate's debate on immigration legislation.
Congressional debate over immigration bills proposing everything from toughened border security to the legalization of undocumented migrants in America have triggered huge demonstrations across the United States in recent weeks.
"We decided to re-record 'The Star-Spangled Banner' to show our solidarity with the undocumented migrants," said UBO President Adam Kidron. "Today we are Americans and 'The-Star Spangled Banner' represents everything to us."
The recording, dubbed "Nuestro Himno" or "Our Anthem," is set to "urban Latino rhythms" but respects the song's traditional structure, UBO said in a news release. Each artist decided whether to sing in Spanish or English.
The "Nuestro Himno" record will be sold for $10, with a portion going to Washington-based National Capital Immigration Coalition, UBO said. Besides Trevi and Don Omar, other artists on the record are Ivy Queen, Reik, Voz a Voz, Franco De Vita and Kalimba.
The record company said the lyrics would be released on Sunday.
Notice that they changed the tempo to "urban Latino rhythms" and included at least one artist that isn't even an American citizen. Don Omar and Ivy Queen are Puerto Rican, Reik is a band form Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and Gloria Trevi is a controversial Mexican singer that was jailed for kidnapping and abuse charges. for Franco De Vita is Venezuelan. No difinitive information is given about Kalimba or Voz a Voz. What business do non-citizens have for singing the 'Star-Spangled Banner,' and how dare they translate the words to another language. The participation of Mexican artists is yet example of that country's meddling in internal American affairs.
The title "Nuestro Himno" means "Our Hymn." Again, this is an "ours" vs. "theirs" mentality. The motto for a leading Spanish-language network is "Lo Nuestro," or "Our thing" that broadcasts "Nuestra Lengua," "Our Language." In other words, they have no intention of accepting the invitation to become part of America, joining us as have past immigrants. They prefer the "us vs. them" confrontational mode. Many are accusing those that are adverse the legalization of 12 million illegal aliens of racism. What they don't understand that most Americans are adverse to the cultural changes that these 12 million will bring about. The Spanish-language 'Star-Spangled Banner' is an example of those changes that we don't want.
Here's Michelle Malkin's report.
posted by Eleanor © @ 4/22/2006 05:15:00 AM
8 Comments:
At Sat Apr 22, 10:47:00 AM PDT,
Always On Watch said…
I felt the bile rising on this one.
At Fri Apr 28, 06:08:00 AM PDT,
TheMalau said…
Your concerns are very valid, and though I cannot relate, being myself a legal immigrant with no intentions of ever becoming a citizen, I definitely understand your frustration.
That said, with the exception of a few states, I have just checked, there is no official language in the United States. There is a most widespread language, but that is about it. The states that do have official languages (such as Texas, California, Louisiana), happen to have them in conjunction with either spanish or french. So the Sta Spangled banner in spanish, that is neither illegal, nor unAmerican. They sing it Samoan in American Samoa; why not in spanish too? just a question.
Now as for foreigners joining in the singing... you have had Celine Dion, a Canadian, singing at the Super Bowl, if I am not mistaken. Why the double standard? In any case, I somewhat agree that it is not the smartest thing to be doing considering the current tensions.
At Fri Apr 28, 08:26:00 AM PDT,
Cubed © said…
Themalau,
Welcome. As a legal resident, you are indeed welcome in my home, even if you never intend to become a citizen. My own son-in-law is a Brit, a legal resident, and never intends to become a citizen.
It is the illegals from any country with which I have a problem, just as I would have a problem with an uninvited guest in my home.
You are entirely correct; there is no "official language," English or otherwise, in the United States, although there has been an effort for many years to establish is as such.
English is indeed the predominant language in the United States, and more people speak English world-wide than any other language in the world, either as a first or second language. It also outstrips, in terms of vocabulary, any other language in the world, with about 750,000 words. It is the premier language of science, commerce, industry, and the arts.
In short, it is to the distinct advantage of citizens of this country to be fluent in the language, and to make it a requirement for naturalized citizens to have at least a working knowledge of the language would be a good thing for all of us.
For English to be the "official language" would mean only that all government documents published at taxpayer expense would be published only in English. Translations would be available, but at the expense of the private sector.
It is alway a benefit to people to know more than one language; my mother tongue was Spanish, I grew up in Switzerland speaking French, Italian, and a bit of the so-called "Swiss German" and later learned enough Russian to get around - sort of.
In Switzerland, in a sense my "second country," there are four languages, including the world's closest living relative of ancient Latin. Everyone, however, learns all the other languages, and as a very small country, it is easy for the Swiss to have pride of nation despite the four languages.
In a large country, where there are groups who speak different languages without knowledge or common use of the other, not only do we become compromised in our ability to communicate in matters affecting daily life, but the populations begin to establish group loyalties among themselves, as if they were separate little nations, instead of to the nation as a whole, and to the principles on which it was founded.
This separateness of language, when it is profound, produces "psychological Balkanization" which invariably leads to administrative separation as well. We see that in the separatist movement in Canada, and we see the beginnings of it in Muslim communities in host countries all over the word, especially Europe.
The refusal to learn the language of the host country is the first step in the refusal to assimilate, which in turn, is the first step in administrative separation.
The illegals - and some legals - already want to claim ownership of certain states in the United States, for which the United States paid a princely sum under the terms of the Treaty of Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American war. Mexico, at the time, didn't place much value on the property, and decided to sell because it needed the money to fight the Spanish, who were then in the process of trying to reassert control over Mexico.
I also have no problem with singing the National Anthem in other languages, provided the TRANSLATION IS FAITHFUL TO THE ORIGINAL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE VERSION! The Spanish version now making the rounds is nothing more than a Separatist Anthem sung to a similar tune; it has nothing to do with loyalty to the United States.
Similarly, I have no problem with foreigners singing the National Anthem, with the proviso, again, that it is done with respect to the United States.
I can't place all the blame for the current tensions on the illegals, since they are here with the complicity of the United States Government, which has utterly refused to deal with the problem realistically.
In fact, I will soon be posting on the whole matter of the "Borderless World" very soon, perhaps after the fallout from Monday's demonstrations has settled.
Please do drop by again, and thank you for your thoughts.
At Fri Apr 28, 09:49:00 AM PDT,
TheMalau said…
Dear Cubed,
Thank you for welcoming me on your blog, despite my slight disagreement with you.
See, with a few exceptions, most people who defend the undocumented, do not condone illegal immigration. They will tell you: reinforce the border, but treat those that are already in fairly, consodering their being here in such number, is mostly a result of a failiure of government, both here, and in their countries of origin.
Now, I see your point about your home, and not wanting to let a random person entering it. That is common sense. I could make the argument that part of the immigration problem are the backlash of US Cold war policies in Central and South America, and in Mexico... but that is another debate.
English is very widespread, and it is a fine language. But it is not God's language either, if you will forgive the cheap comparison. As an African, who is a product of post-colonial times, I have issues with the notion that almighty mother english is somehow inherently better than the thousands of languages in the world. As for the United States, considering the number of CITIZENS that have Spanish as a first or second language, I believe it should be a requirement from 1st grade to promote fluency in both English and Spanish. It is good for the kids psyche anyway, to learn more than one language. I believe it is exactly the attitude by many caucasians that English is somehow superior, that is causing the current spanish-language backlash. Don't get me wrong: I am for everybody learnng english here. But I am also for everybody learning Spanish, and a third language of their choice. The American people would just end up better. But that is just my lowly opinion of course.
I also believe (finally back to the point, right?) that they should not have changed the lyrics, just translated them. And then make another song, which would be like the Black "Lift every voice".
At Fri Apr 28, 01:41:00 PM PDT,
Cubed © said…
Themalau,
I never have a problem with disagreements per se. You have disagreed with courtesy and dignity, and I admire that. From time to time, there will be someone who uses disagreement as a means to let off some very unpleasant steam with vulgarity and hostility. Those are the only ones I really get chapped about.
I couldn't agree more that the problem is a problem with illegals is a problem originating with our government. They have been inconsistent and unresponsive to current conditions. They have also been responsible for creating many of the current conditions, via their intervention into the economy with things like the minimum wage law and the anti-trust laws.
Two of my heros are black Americans, and both are free enterprise economists. Just in case you aren't familiar with them, here are their names: Walter Williams, Head, Department of Economics, George Mason University) and Thomas Sowell, of the Hoover Institute. Dr. Sowell has a book called "Basic Economics" aimed at the general readership, since we have all been so disgracefully deprived of lessons in economics, and Dr. Williams has an on-line ten-part course in economics at his site.
They are the ones who educated me with respect to the role in this sort of problem played by the government's interference with the economy. Don't get me going on this, though. . . It's a very sensitive button, and I've already been talking long enough! There are at least two other short, engaging books...No. I must get back on topic!
BTW, George Mason is an unsung hero of the Constitution; he refused to sign on to it, even though he contributed extensively to its authorship, because the other Framers didn't put in his desire to refuse to import any more Africans as slaves. He was a grumpy old guy with gout who owned slaves himself, and difficult to live with, but he wanted to limit importation and ultimately end it, and for that, I admire him. I think American blacks should pay more attention to this man, grumpy as he was.
As for English, all languages are the product of the human intellect, and none can claim a special virtue over others EXCEPT by the very utilitarian fact that some are more useful in enabling human discourse. English is "better" only in the sense that it has more words, and is used by more people as a common means of communication, than any other. I forget whether French or German comes in second, but whichever it is, it trails English with a vocabulary of around 250,000 words - that's about 1/3 the words in English. While migration and colonization certainly account for its use by many other peoples of the world, there is another factor that is often overlooked, and that is, the intensely inventive and creative spirit of the United States. Here, we have had the conditions which permitted and encouraged innovation, and we have named the products of our creativity with English words. As these innovations and developments were adopted around the world by other people, they began to use English to learn more about them. For example, progress in medicine (my field) has been very prolific, and many non-English-speaking foreign doctors find it useful to learn English so they can read American journals "hot off the press" and keep up with the latest developments in the field.
French, of course, was and continues to be used in many of her former colonies, and used to be the premier language of diplomacy. As a courtesy, many still accord it that position, but in reality, English, having proven more useful, has replaced it in that function too.
The inflexibility of the French Academy is partly to blame for the failure of the French language to grow and remain useful, since as a bunch of snobby purists, they refuse to allow the "infestation" of foreign words (although the population uses foreign words all the time).
I am a physician, with a special interest in human intellect, and I couldn't agree with you more about the beneficial impact of learning multiple languages. In Switzerland, I lived next door to a remarkable family; Mom spoke one language, Dad spoke another (neither was one of the Swiss languages), and the four kids grew up speaking five languages simultaneously (they didn't learn Romanisch, that Latin sound-alike). They were all mixed up at first, but began to straighten out by the time they were four, and by the time they were six or seven, they kept all the languages straight (most of the time), and spoke all of them fluently and without an accent.
In the newborn, there is a kind of neuron nicknamed the "mirror neuron." These neurons enable the brand new little human to imitate just about everything he sees, all of which he is seeing for the very first time. The next time you have access to a newborn, have some fun; hold him in front of you, and stick your tongue out at him. He will watch intently the first time or two, and very soon you will see him making unmistakable efforts to stick his tongue out at you.
As adults, we have very few "mirror neurons" left, but we see them in action when someone else yawns, and we feel the desire to do the same. "Infectious" laughing can be similarly driven by mirror neurons. That's where we feel the almost irresistable pressure to imitate, and it's how the newborn "kick-starts" a lot of his learning.
Every time an infant uses a neuron, say, in language acquisition, it connects with some other neuron, and eventually forms a permanent circuit; these connections soon "associate" with areas of the brain with other functions (speech to vision, for example), reinforce each other, and expand their functions. Neurons that aren't used just dry up and die, never to be used again. In fact, the newborn has many, many times the number of brain cells than we adults do.
Language, being an early intellectual acquisition, contributes heavily to the intellectual development at large of the baby brain. In fact, there is mounting evidence that the best time to introduce a baby to a new language is at about six months (that is not a typo). The whole language motor is revved up and ready to go about then (that Swiss family seemed to corroborate this idea). And language isn't the only intellectual task... but that's a different blog.
This all brings us to a related fact; it is because of exposure to other languages that English has grown so much, so fast, and has become so useful. In their explorations around the world, people would run into things that were entirely new to them, and for which they had no word. Their answer to that little problem was simply to adopt the word used by the locals, and incorporate it into English. Bingo! One more candidate for the dictionary, where you will usually see something about the linguistic source of that particular word!
The frequent adoption of foreign words by English also accounts for the notorious spelling difficulties in English. Some rules of spelling follow the rules of the language of origin rather than the rules of English (such as they are - they were always changing, and instead of changing the rules, they just added another one), so - well, you know - that's why we have such long spelling lists for school children to learn every Friday!
Maybe one day a different language will prove more useful to the people of the world in their need to communicate with each other, but so far, English serves the purpose well. More likely, the next language of great utility will simply evolve. Languages have a tendency to do that, and when they've changed enough, they get a new name. You doubtless are familiar with the fact that just about every western language, from ancient Greek to Hindi to modern English, comes from the ancient Indoeuropeans (somewhere in Asia Minor, as I recall, but I could be mistaken about that), and spread - and changed - as the original speakers migrated around the world.
You say you think that many caucasions think that English is superior. In the sense that it is very useful, it is. Try to remember, though, there are caucasions other than English-speaking ones, and they, like all peoples everywhere, be they caucasions or not, have a special affection for their native tongues.
It is precisely this emotional attachment that makes it so important for newcomers to learn the host language. In our case, here in the U.S., it isn't just an arrogant sense of pride (like the members of the French Academy...) about English, it is a means of uniting us under the roof of the language that is already in use in every activity in the country, and which, by sharing it, keeps us united psychologically. We can, and do, take pride in the knowledge of other languages - I am certainly proud of my own history with other languages, including my mother tongue (Spanish - which I wish I could remember better).
The "Spanish-language backlash" is not due to some sort of arrogance. It is more than that, it's a superficial sign of a much deeper resentment. When people enter our country with the hope of benefitting in ways where they could not in their own countries because their countries have failed them, it is natural to feel a sense of loss with respect to the need to leave their birth countries. People often, even usually, feel angry when they feel loss. That is not something that we here in American can help with, unfortunately.
But there is an "entry fee" of sorts to pay. In order to benefit maximally from the opportunities that are available here, people simply have to be willing to work to acquire the skills that make it possible for anyone, from any culture, to take advantage of them.
Right now, many American citizens and legal residents have the impression that the illegals want to re-create Mexico (etc.) in the southwestern United States. This is an instance of "be careful what you wish for," because if they could wave the magic wand and do that, they would be right back in the same situation they have just escaped.
It would benefit them a great deal more to try to examine what it is that they find so attractive about this country that they are pressured to leave their own birth places, and then join us, rather than trying to separate from us.
Most citizens, and many foreigners, think we have accomplished something very special here in the United States. That's why they want to come here.
But everything they find attractive didn't just drop out of the sky; it was the result of a long history of creative thinking and hard work.
Are we perfect? No; I could talk about a number of flaws right now, but as you have said, that's another discussion.
I also think your idea of another song, another anthem, expressing opposing views, is a solution. The substitution of different words, hostile to the existing anthem, only increases the impression that they - the illegals and their supporters - wish to destroy what we have created, instead of contributing to its improvement.
Unlike the Muslim "cartoon response," no one will arrest them and there will be no mobs setting fires or throwing rocks at them for doing that, but they must know that by doing that, they aren't winning friends or influencing people to have any sympathy to their "cause," which is heavily flawed to begin with.
Your opinions are hardly "lowly," as you must see from the length of my response! I find them very interesting and provocative!
Keep up the good work!
At Fri Apr 28, 03:56:00 PM PDT,
Cubed © said…
patriot1040,
Thank you! English is such an interesting language; it's a lot like a linguistic archeological tool, in that through it, we can trace back a lot of human history. It was a viceroy in Colonia India who noticed the similarities between many words in Hindi and English, and then to many words in other languages as well.
Eventually, when the words were traced back to known migrations of peoples, the "point of origin" was discovered, and whole new ways of thinking about the history of who we were and who we bacame began.
And I SO agree with you and TheMalau about teaching foreign language early. The chief reason we don't do it is because the ideal time to begin is before the baby can give us a lot of "feedback." We adults need a lot of rewards in order to work hard, and pre-verbal babies don't give us much obvious reward. If only we knew that what we were doing with a six-eight month old would pay off in spades when the baby was about two to three years old, we might do better!
As it is now, most schools, if they even offer foreign language, don't begin until late elementary or even high school.
That's unfortunate, because when we hit puberty, the "windows" for the really easy, almost effortless, learning of brand new stuff close up pretty tight. The brain assumes it's final state of organization during puberty, and the kind of learning we do well after that isn't the new stuff, it's expanding on the stuff we learned before.
Language is one of the most important "bonding" experiences we can have with another human being. A person can look very different from us, but the minute we find out that we share a language, a lot of the kind of caution we use with the "unknown" goes out the window. Suddenly, the differences are relegated to the back burner.
The next thing we do is to find out if we share the same values. That usually completes the psychological bond.
That's why the illegals and their supporters, by coming here, but insisting on speaking Spanish in place of (not in addition to) English, and by espousing values that are in conflict with ours, raise the hackles of so many citizens and legals.
At Sat Apr 29, 08:02:00 AM PDT,
Cubed © said…
Vulfie,
I think if the Anthem were accurately translated and sung with respect, we would all feel very differently about the whole matter.
Unfortunately, the motives of these particular tranlators and singers is not "pure," as the expression goes; it is intended as an indication of hostile intent, and sung as a means of communicating that intent.
At Sat Apr 29, 08:08:00 AM PDT,
Cubed © said…
Alejandro,
Thanks for the Finnish version; it's an education in it's own right for people to be able to understand what's communicated in their national songs.
I know it's long, but to understand the relationship between language and it's ability to provoke an emotional response, you may want to read my comment above to Patriot1040, published at 3:56:09. The "deal" about language is a very big one, and it's something we should all be aware of.
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