If art imitates life, we can see that the story of the Independence Anthem was so marked by improvised as the occasion when the prince regent made official the end of the ties that linked Brazil to Portugal. At the beginning of the 19th century, artist, politician and bookseller Evaristo da Veiga wrote the verses of a poem he titled the “Brazilian Constitutional Anthem”. In a short time, the verses gained prominence in the court and were set to music by the conductor Marcos Antônio da Fonseca Portugal (1760-1830).
A student of the conductor, Dom Pedro I already showed great enthusiasm for the field of music and, after the proclamation of independence, decided to compose a new melody for the lyrics set to music by Marcos Antônio. Through this modification, we had the officialization of the Independence Anthem. The governor's feat ended up gaining so much prominence that, for some years, Dom Pedro I was considered the exclusive author of the lyrics and music of the anthem.
Abdicating the imperial government in 1831, we observe that the “Anthem of Independence” ended up losing prestige as a national symbol. After all, it is worth remembering that the government of Dom Pedro I had been marked by several problems that diminished his prestige as emperor. In fact, the “Independence Anthem” was stopped in time for over a century, not being performed at official ceremonies or any other type of official event.
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In 1922, the date that marked the celebration of the centenary of independence, the anthem was played again with the melody created by conductor Marcos Antônio. It was only in the 1930s, thanks to the action of Minister Gustavo Capanema, that the Independence Anthem was finally regulated in its form and authorship. With the help of conductor Heitor Villa-Lobos, the melody composed by D. Pedro I was given as the only one to be used in the performance of the aforementioned hymn.
You can, from the Motherland, children,
See glad the kind mother;
Freedom has already dawned
On the horizon of Brazil.
Brave Brazilian people!
Far go... servile fear:
Or get the homeland free
Or die for Brazil.
The fetters that forged us
From the cunning treachery...
There was a more powerful hand:
Brazil mocked them.
Brave Brazilian people!
Far go... servile fear:
Or get the homeland free
Or die for Brazil.
Fear not ungodly phalanxes,
Who have a hostile face;
your breasts, your arms
They are walls of Brazil.
Brave Brazilian people!
Far go... servile fear:
Or get the homeland free
Or die for Brazil.
Congratulations, O Brazilian,
Now, with manly garb,
from the universe among nations
The one in Brazil shines.
Brave Brazilian people!
Far go... servile fear:
Or get the homeland free
Or die for Brazil.
* With information from the Government Portal
Listen to the Independence Anthem on Youtube:
By Rainer Sousa
Master in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Anthem of the Independence of Brazil"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/hinodaindependencia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
