In 1830-1832, José Joaquín de Olmedo wrote a national anthem (chorus and four verses) as an homage to the infant Ecuadorian state. This composition, suggested by General Juan José Flores, was not set to music and did not gain popularity. In 1833, a hymn entitled Canción Ecuatoriana (Ecuadorian Song), of six verses, was published in the Gaceta del Gobierno del Ecuador No. 125 of December 28. A composition date of 1830 was given, but most historians do not consider this definitive, because it was by an anonymous author. In 1838, a Canción Nacional (National Song), of a chorus and six verses, appeared included in the pamphlet Poesías by General Flores, which was published by the Government Press. In a later editions, there were changes to the third verse. Even so, for historians, it is the second Canción Nacional that is known.
In 1865, the Argentine musician Juan José Allende, in collaboration with the Ecuadorian Army, presented to the National Congress a musical project for the lyrics by José Joaquín de Olmedo, but it was not well received. In November of this year, at the express request of the president of the Senate, Nicolás Espinosa, the Ambateño poet Juan León Mera Martínez, who was then the secretary of the Senate, wrote and submitted the lyrics of the National Anthem. These lyrics were then sent, with Congressional approval, to Guayaquil, so that Antonio Neumane would set them to music. This is the hymn that would later be officialized as the definitive national anthem.
On January 16, 1866, the complete version of the lyrics by Juan León Mera were published in the Quiteño weekly El Sud Americano. In 1870, the national anthem premiered in the Plaza Grande (Plaza de la Independencia facing the Palacio de Gobierno), performed by the 2nd Battalion and the Compañía Lírica de Pablo Ferreti, directed by Antonio Neumane. The music was in the key of C flat major. The current introduction of 16 measures was composed by Domingo Brescia and Enrique Marconi in 1901. Today, the hymn is performed in the key of E major from 2001 onward.
In 1913, the Guayaquileño writer and diplomat Víctor Manuel Rendón submitted a new hymn with lyrics adapted from the music of Antonio Neumane, but ultimately the Legislature rejected the proposal.
Coro¡Salve, Oh Patria, mil veces! ¡Oh Patria,gloria a ti! ¡Gloria a ti!Ya tu pecho, tu pecho, rebosaGozo y paz y a tu pecho rebosa;Y tu frente, tu frente radiosaMás que el sol contemplamos lucir,Y tu frente, tu frente radiosaMás que el sol contemplamos lucir.
2da EstrofaLos primeros los hijos del sueloQue soberbio, el Pichincha decoraTe aclamaron por siempre señoraY vertieron su sangre por ti.Dios miró y aceptó el holocaustoY esa sangre fue germen fecundoDe otros héroes que atónito el mundoVio en tu torno a millares surgir.A millares surgir, a millares surgir.
CoroCoro¡Salve, Oh Patria, mil veces! ¡Oh Patria,gloria a ti! Y a tu pecho rebosagozo y paz, y tu frente radiosamás que el sol contemplamos lucir.
IIndignados tus hijos del yugoque te impuso la ibérica audacia,de la injusta y horrenda desgraciaque pesaba fatal sobre ti,santa voz a los cielos alzaron,voz de noble y sin par juramento,de vengarte del monstruo sangriento,de romper ese yugo servil.
IILos primeros los hijos del sueloque, soberbio, el Pichincha decorate aclamaron por siempre señoray vertieron su sangre por ti.Dios miró y aceptó el holocausto,y esa sangre fue germen fecundode otros héroes que, atónito, el mundovio en tu torno a millares surgir.
IIICedió al fin la fiereza española,y hoy, oh Patria, tu libre existenciaes la noble y magnífica herenciaque nos dio el heroísmo feliz:de las manos paternas la hubimos,nadie intente arrancárnosla ahora,ni nuestra ira excitar vengadoraquiera, necio o audaz, contra si.
IVDe esos héroes el brazo de hierronada tuvo invencible la tierray del valle a la altísima sierrase escuchaba el fragor de la lid;tras la lid la victoria volaba,libertad tras el triunfo venía,y al león destrozado se oíade impotencia y despecho rugir
VNadie, oh Patria, lo intente. Las sombrasde tus héroes gloriosos nos mirany el valor y el orgullo que inspiranson augurios de triunfos por ti.Venga el hierro y el plomo fulmíneo,que a la idea de guerra y venganzase despierta la heroica pujanzaque hizo al fiero español sucumbir.
VIY si nuevas cadenas preparala injusticia de bárbara suerte,¡gran Pichincha! prevén tú la muertede la Patria y sus hijos al fin;hunde al punto en tus hondas entrañascuando existe en tu tierra; el tiranohuelle solo cenizas y en vanobusque rastro de ser junto a ti.
ChorusWe greet you, Oh Fatherland, a thousand times!Oh Fatherland, Glory be to you! Glory be to you!Your breast, your breast, overflows,Your breast overflows with joy and peace;And your radiant face, your radiant faceis brighter than the shining sun we see,And your radiant face, your radiant faceis brighter than the shining sun we see.
1st verseYour children of the yoke were outraged,For they were imposed by the audacious Iberians,By the unjust and horrendous disgrace,Fatally weighing upon you.From the skies a holy voice cried out,that noble voice of a unbreakable pledge,to defeat that monster of blood,that this yoke of yours would disappear.
2nd verseThe first sons of the soil, nobleWhich the proud; the Pichincha adorns,They declared you as their sovereign lady foreverAnd shed their blood for you.God observed and accepted the holocaust,And that blood was the prolific seedOf other heroes whom the world in astonishmentSaw rise up around you by the thousands.Rise up by the thousands, Rise up by the thousands.
Chorus3rd verseAt last the fierce Spanish yielded,And now, oh fatherland, your free existenceThe noble and magnificent heritage,That gave us the happy heroism:It was given to us from our fathers hands,Let no one take it from us now,Nor wish to excite our vengeful anger,Any foolish or bold, against itself.
4th verseOf those heroes of iron armNo land was invincible,And from the valley to the highest sierraYou could hear the roar of the fray;After the fray that victory would fly,Freedom after the triumph would come,And the Lion was heard brokenWith a roar of helplessness and despair.
5th verseNo one, oh fatherland, tries it. The shadows ofYour glorious heroes watch us,And the value and pride that inspireThey are omens of victories for you.Come lead and the striking iron,That the idea of war and revengeWakes the heroic strengthThat made the fierce Spanish succumb.
6th verseAnd if new chains are prepared byThe barbaric injustice of fate,Great Pichincha! you prevent the deathOf the country and their children in the end;Sinks to the deep point in your gutWhen there in your land, the tyrantLet him trample upon only ashes and in vainLook for trace of any being by you.
