COSTA RICA : Costa Rica National Anthem
Costa Rican National Anthem
National Anthem of Costa Rica
Himno Nacional

• Author: José María Zeledón Brenes (1877-1949)
• Composer: Manuel Maria Gutiérrez (1829-1887)
• Adopted: 1853 (Music), 1900 (Words)
• National Day: September 15 (1821) - Independence Day
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• Further details: When in 1853 the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and the United States arrived in San José, the capital of Costa Rica, the President of the Republic decided that the two gentlemen should be welcomed to the strains of the National Anthem. The trouble was that Costa Rica had no National Anthem. To remove this slight obstacle, MANUEL MARÍA GUTIÉRREZ (1829-1887), who enjoyed the reputation of being his country's foremost practicing musician, was ordered to compose one. The poor devil insisted that he knew nothing about the art of musical composition. But that did him no good. He was thrown into prison and promised that he would not be released until he had produced a usable piece of music. The resulting composition was first performed in the National Assembly of San José on June 11 1853.
  
  The story may be apocryphal, for there are sources which give the date of the National Anthem as 1821. However that be, with its text by JOSÉ MARÍA ZELEDÓN BRENES (1877-1949) (officially adopted in 1900 as the result of a public contest), the National Anthem of Costa Rica is a very respectable composition. It is somewhat conventional and suggests vaguely the style of contemporary German glee club arrangements.
  
  ERRATUM
  Bar 44 (4th note) in the vocal line should be: G (not B) - this will be corrected as soon as possible