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A `Star-Spangled' controversy

SPANISH VERSION OF ANTHEM DEBUTS TODAY

By David Montgomery

Washington Post

Oh say can you see -- a la luz de la aurora?

The U.S. national anthem that once endured the radical transformation administered by Jimi Hendrix's fuzzed and frantic Stratocaster now faces a new artistic dare: translation into Spanish.

The new take is scheduled to hit the airwaves today. It is called ``Nuestro Himno'' -- ``Our Anthem'' -- and it was recorded over the past week by Latin pop stars including Ivy Queen, Gloria Trevi, Carlos Ponce, Tito ``El Bambino,'' Olga Tanon and the group Aventura. Joining and singing in Spanish is Haitian-American artist Wyclef Jean.

The different voices contribute lines the way 1985's ``We Are the World'' was put together by an ensemble of stars. The national anthem's familiar melody and structure are preserved, while the rhythms and instrumentation come straight out of Latin pop.

Outrage over the song already is building in the blogosphere and among conservative commentators.

Timed to make its debut the week Congress returned to debate immigration reform, ``Nuestro Himno'' is intended to be an anthem of solidarity for the movement that has drawn hundreds of thousands of people to march peacefully on immigrants' behalf in cities across the country, said Adam Kidron, president of Urban Box Office, the New York-based entertainment company that launched the project.

``It's the one thing everybody has in common, the aspiration to have a relationship with the United States . . . and also to express gratitude and patriotism to the United States for providing the opportunity,'' Kidron said.

Pro-immigration protests are planned across the country Monday, and the record label is urging Latino radio stations nationwide to play the cut at 4 p.m. PDT today in a sign of solidarity.

But some supporters are puzzled by the use of Spanish.

``Even our Spanish media are saying, `Why are we doing this, what are you trying to do?' '' said Pedro Biaggi, a radio host at the most popular Latino station in the Washington area. ``It's not for us to be going around singing the national anthem in Spanish. . . . We don't want to impose, we don't own the place. . . . We want to be accepted.''

Critics including columnist Michelle Malkin, who coined it ``The Illegal Alien Anthem,'' say the song crosses a line that Hendrix never stepped over with his instrumental version. Transforming the musical idiom of ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' is one thing, argue skeptics, but translating the words sends the message: We are not Americans.

Kidron, a British-born U.S. resident for 16 years, maintains the changes are acceptable. After all, he said, U.S. immigrants borrowed the melody from an English drinking song.