Sheet music

NICARAGUA : Nicaragua National Anthem
Nicaraguan National Anthem
National Anthem of Nicaragua
Salve a ti, Nicaragua

  • Author: Salomón Ibarra Mayorga (1890-1985)
  • Composer: Luis Abraham Delgadillo (1887-1961)
  • Adopted: 1918 (Music), 1939 (Words)
  • National Day: September 15 (1821) - Independence Day
  • Buy:

    Luis Abraham Delgadillo
    Luis Abraham Delgadillo

  • Further details: The first National Anthem of Nicaragua was a religious piece of music without words and was used to honour the President of the Assembly and Federal Court. Described as an anonymous psalm - a kind of liturgical chant brought to Nicaragua in 1821 by a monk called Anselmo Castinove (believed to have been born in Toledo, Spain). Between 1835-1837 it was adopted as the official National Anthem. According to findings made by Gilbert Vega Miranda in the Guatemalan colonial archives, another composer was believed to have been the Jesuit Father Gómez. It was in use until 1876, when the National Anthem was changed. The National Anthem was again changed in 1893. When the Conservative Revolution took place in 1910, the new government decided to bring back the original religious hymn which had been composed in Guatemala by Father Gómez. But since the written music could not be found in the archives, the old people were asked to reconstruct the National Anthem and the Professor of the National Institute, Marco Antonio Ortega, was commissioned to write the 'emergency' words for it. This hymn was immediately accepted as the official National Anthem.

    The well-known composer of the Milan Conservatory LUID ABRAHAM DELGADILLO (1887-1961) who was born in Managua, was asked to add the instrumentation so it could be played by a band. But the people wanted a stable National Anthem, and in 1918 under President Emiliano Chamorro there was a contest to put new words to the National Anthem; the only rules were that there should be: 1. Two verses about peace and work, 2. Peace and work should be the only topics, and 3. The words should fit the music. The winner was the Nicaraguan poet, SALOMÓN IBARRA MAYORGA (1890-1985). The author moved to Honduras in 1972 after the massive earthquake which devastated Managua. The music isn't exactly the same as the old hymn since Delgadillo gave it a new and majestic form; so he can be considered the composer.

    The National Anthem was officially adopted in 1939 by a government decree.