Proem

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Last November 2, 2007 the University of Bohol and the Tirol family celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of Atty. Victoriano D. Tirol. He was University of Bohol's first President, a great educator and great father.

Today November 4, we also celebrate the birthday of the Boholano former President of the Philippines Carlos P. Garcia.

As a tribute to CPG we will discuss his translation of the national anthem to Bisayan. This translation was based directly from Spanish, a language that CPG spoke well.

The National Anthem

The Marcha Nacional (National March) was first composed in music by Julian Felipe. It was played the first time during the celebration of independence on June 12, 1898 at Kawit, Cavite. It did not have lyrics. Later on, the poet Jose Palma was commissioned to put the Spanish lyrics to fit the music. When it was completed, the whole composition was adopted as the National Anthem.

Theme of the Spanish Lyrics

When the lyrics were composed, the Filipinos were still fighting a revolution against Spain. The thrust of the wordings is about the people offering their lives and services to the country. It was in the "active sense" and full of vigor.

The Pilipino translation was finalized on May 26, 1956 through Department of Education Order No. 5, s-1956 signed by the Secretary of Education G. Hernandez Jr.

I do not know whether it is by design or omission, the Tagalog translation we sing today is rendered in the passive sense. It is now about the country serving or acting towards the people instead of the original sense that the people serve the country.

The English version by Camilo Osias that we sang when we were yet young was a different case. It was not a translation but another set of poetic words composed to fit the music. It was similar to the Spanish original but couched in such a way that it will not offend the American colonizers.

How They Differ

The original Spanish lyrics says:
Tierra adorada (Land adored)
Hija del sol de Oriente (Child of the sun of the Orient)
Su fuego ardiente (Your ardent fire)
En ti latiendo esta (Is palpitating in us)

It is very clear, the action is to be done by the singer to his country.

The Tagalog translation says:
Bayang magiliw (Loving country)
Perlas ng Silanganan (Pearl of the Orient)
Alab ng puso (Fervor of the heart)
Sa dibdib mo'y buhay. (Is alive in your breast)

The sense is now reversed. The prefix "ma" in magiliw indicates that the bayan (country) is the one that loves. In the original sense it is the singer who loves his country. To capture the original sense the Tagalog words should be ginigiliw and not magiliw. If it is difficult to fit in the notes, then iniibig would still fit.

The last two lines in the Spanish original has the English sense, "Your ardent fire is palpitating in us." However, the Tagalog translation put the "ardent fire or fervor still in the country and not in the singer". It is apparent that the Tagalog translations have a "colonial mentality." They were careful not to offend American sensibilities.

CPG's Bisayan translation says:
Yutang hinalaran (Land adored)
Anak sa adlaw's sidlakan (Child of the sun of the Orient)
Ang kayo's kalag mo (The fire in your soul)
Nagsiga's among dughan (Is burning in our breast)

This translation of CPG captures the original Spanish sense of the singer acting or praising his country.

The last stanza of the Spanish original says:
Tierra de dichas, de sol y de amores (Land of honors, of the sun and loves)
En tu regazo dulce is vivir (In your lap is sweet to live)
!Es una Gloria para tus hijos (It is a glory for your sons)
Cuando ofenden, por ti morir! (When you are offended, to die for you)

The Tagalog version says;
Lupa ng araw, ng luwalhati't pagsinta (Land of the sun, of glory, and love)
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo (Life is heaven in yoru side)
Aming ligaya, na pag may mang-aapi (It is our happiness, when there will be oppressors)
Ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo. (To die because of you)

In the original Spanish the singer will wait for an offender or oppressor and gladly die fighting for the country. In the Tagalog version, is vague and misleading. The singer will gladly die when there will be oppressors and the "because of you" is not clear. Is it the oppressor or the country? And besides, oppressors are always present. In the original the singer will wait for an offense but in the Tagalog version, the singer will immediately die. Maybe it's the reason why many Filipinos are going abroad. They do not want to die even if there is no offense.

CPG's Bisayan Translation
CPG was a poet and not a musician. His Bisayan translation captures the original Spanish sense but it is very difficult to sing because the syllables sometimes do not fit the musical notes.

In the last stanza, CPG's translation is clear that the purpose of dying is to defeat the invaders and not to die due to the presence of the oppressors.