Гватемала Республикасының Мемлекеттік Әнұраны

National anthem of the Central American country

The national anthem of Guatemala (lang es) was an initiative of the government of General José María Reina Barrios. Its music was composed by Rafael Álvarez Ovalle [es] and its original lyrics written by Cuban poet and diplomat José Joaquín Palma, in the context of the cultural and industrial event Exposición Centroamericana of 1897. The anthem was particularly warmongering and reflected the Cuban War of Independence more than the independence of Central America. Due to this, by a 1934 order of President Jorge Ubico some changes to the lyrics were made by pedagogue José María Bonilla Ruano. The lyrics and score were printed for the first time in the culture magazine La Ilustración Guatemalteca, where the original author of the lyrics appeared as "Anonymous". It was not until 1910, shortly before his death, that Palma confessed being the author.

In 1879, the El Porvenir Literary Society unsuccessfully attempted to create a national anthem for Guatemala. In 1887, the president of Guatemala, General Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián, called for a competition to choose music that would complement the lyrics of the "People's Anthem of Guatemala [es]" written by poet Ramón P. Molina. Distinguished composers took part in this competition, and the triumph was awarded to music presented by Rafael Álvarez Ovalle [es].

The National Anthem of Guatemala has been considered by Carlos Labin, a member of the Americanist Society of Paris and the Musicology Society of France, as the "most original" of all the anthems of the American continent.