Every country has a story behind the creation of its national anthem. In his previous Frontera blog post, author Agustín Gurza recounted the complex history of the Mexican National Anthem, which originated under the reign of President Antonio López de Santa Anna. The Frontera Collection also contains recordings of anthems from nine other Latin American nations. Most of the Central and South American anthems were initiated in the years following the wars of independence from Spain, starting in 1810. As with Mexico, many of the new nations of the American continent struggled to find an appropriate national song, reflecting the tumultuous political struggles to establish new sovereign identities. Learn about the national anthems of Peru, Venezuela, Chile, and Argentina in this week’s post.
Image: José San Martín proclaims the independence of Peru on July 28, 1821, in Lima. Painting by Juan Lepiani, 1904.