Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:55 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The "Star-Spangled Banner" debuted on Friday with new Latin beat and Spanish lyrics but it did not win a glowing review from President George W. Bush, who said the cherished national anthem should be sung in English.
Latin American artists recorded "Nuestro Himno" (Our Anthem) to stir immigrants to turn out for a national boycott and marches for rights across the country on May 1. Instead they stirred up the ire of those who see it as further polarizing Americans. One Internet columnist dubbed it "The Illegal Alien Anthem."
Bush told reporters at a White House Rose Garden news conference the anthem would not have the same value sung in Spanish.
"The national anthem ought to be sung in English. And I think people who want to be citizens of this country ought to learn it in English. They ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English."
The artists on the song include Gloria Trevi, Ivy Queen, Carlos Ponce as well as Haitian American singer Wyclef Jean. It was released through Urban Box Office.
The buildup to the May 1 immigrants' rights event has fueled a debate that has divided Congress, the Republican Party, and public opinion.
Conservatives want the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants deported and a fence built along the border with Mexico. Bush has risked the ire of his own Republican party by supporting a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship.
SPANISH TRANSLATION
The idea of translating the U.S. national anthem into Spanish followed an April rally for immigrants in Washington when Spanish-speakers were handed cards printed with the words to the anthem printed in English and with a phonetic pronunciation guide underneath.
"We wanted to teach the anthem and the Pledge (of Allegiance), so we came up with the idea of the national anthem in Spanish," said Juan Carlos Ruiz, the general coordinator of the National Capital Immigration Coalition, which will receive a portion of the proceeds from the CD the song will appear on.
"There are people who are going to attack us no matter what we do. We want to be a part of this country," Ruiz said. "We want to improve America."
He said the Spanish version attempts to convey the meaning of the lyrics rather a direct translation.
"We tried to show the meaning of the song," he said. "It has a Latin beat and a Reggaeton beat which are basically our cultural music," Ruiz added.
Internet columnist Michelle Malkin, who has called it the "The Illegal Alien Anthem" in blogs this week, and others complain that that the lyrics are rewritten, adding phrases like "We are brothers, that's our anthem."
The "Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812 with Britain and was sung to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven," a British drinking song. It became the national anthem in 1931.