Lupang Hinirang played a big role on our Independence Day on June 12, 1898. This is the music that was played when we waved our flag in Kawit, Cavite when we proclaimed our independence from the Spanish occupiers.
Here is a timeline about our National Anthem, Lupang Hinirang.
English of Lupang Hinirang
Translated as Beloved Land. It was not the first Filipino Anthem. In 1897, there was “Marangal na Dalit ng Katagalugan” of the Katipunan and the Tagalog Republic.
In 1898, Julian Felipe composed the musical arrangement, originally entitled Marcha Filipina Magdalo then later changed to Marcha National Filipina.
First played in public by the San Francisco de Malabon band at the unfurling of the national flag during the Independence Day ceremony in Kawit, Cavite.
The national anthem remained without words for more than a year. In 1899, Jose Palma published his Spanish sonnet “Filipinas” in September. The patriotic poem was soon adapted into the lyrics for the tune.
Felipe de Leon translated the lyrics into Filipino in the early 1900s.
The National Anthem was sung in Spanish and English until 1956 when “Lupang Hinirang” was first sung in public.
Republic Act No. 8491 of 1998 specifies Lupang Hinirang as the national anthem and must be sung in the national language.