The Anthem Philatelist

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire. Liberia, which means "Land of the Free", was founded as an independent nation by free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans. Recently it has witnessed two civil wars, the Liberian Civil War (1989–1996), and the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003), that have displaced hundreds of thousands and destroyed its economy. The national anthem of Liberia, "All Hail, Liberia Hail" was composed by Olmstead Luca in 1869. The words to the anthem of this second oldest independent African nation were written by the nation's third president, Daniel Bashiel Warner , and adopted upon independence in 1847. Presumably, the anthem first had a different melody, as the current music was written in 1860. Warner, a n African-American, was born on Hookstown Road in Baltimore County, Maryland to a father who was a fa...

The words for the national anthem, written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, one of Norway's great dramatists and poets, were first published in 1859. The original poem had six verses; the first verse and last two verses are used nowadays as the anthem. The music was composed by Rikard Nordraak, cousin of Bjørnson and a friend of the famed Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, in 1864. It was first performed later that year for the 50th anniversary of their constitution, and caught on quickly. It became a part of the reading books in schools all over the country, and was sung by the children in the children's parades organized by Bjørnson on every 17th of May. Rikard Nordr aak was a Norwegian composer, born in Christiana (Oslo) . He is best known for having composed the Norwegian national anthem. Nordraak's musical gifts became evident at an early age, but as for many other artists at that time, a different career was already p...

In the last few days of 2000, Russia's new president Vladimir Putin, decided to give the Russian people a new anthem, since a common complaint was not having words to their current anthem. So Putin, upon the advice of the Communists in the parliament who could vote down the bill, adopted the old anthem from the Soviet Union, identifying with the country's past. However, only the music passed the legislative process in early to mid December, 1999. The new words that were written by Sergei Vladimirovich Mikhalkov (the same person who wrote the lyrics to the old Soviet anthem!) to replace the Communist-style words were passed by Presidential order on December 30 of that year (many deputies objected to the mention of G...

Whether he wins or lose in his next fight, Pacquiao has already established himself as one of the greatest boxers of all time. It is not the number or quality of the fighters he defeated that made him great but the way he demolished these fighters. Any memorabilia from this great warrior would surely become a cherished possession in the not so distant future. Our children would be very thankful on inheriting something from "The Man" from Gensan.    Thus, it was a pleasant surprise that Jinky, my pretty college history classmate and friend based in the United States who also had friends close to Manny, volunteered (thru Facebook) to have an Everlast glove autographed during Pacman's pre-Hatton fight propaganda in Las Vegas. Here in this picture, is Jinky with Freddie Roach signing the glove and with Manny in a group picture. Thanks Jinks, I will never forget to tell my grandchildren you were the one who had the gloved signed.   A win against Shane Mosley in his p...

Club Ultima 5Km 44:20

El Himno de Bayamo is the national anthem of Cuba . It was first performed during the Battle of Bayamo in 1868. Perucho Figueredo who took part in the battle, wrote and composed the song. The melody, also called La Bayamesa , was composed by Figueredo in 1867. In October 20, 1868 the Cuban forces obtained the capitulation of the Spaniard authorities in Bayamo, the jubilant people surrounded Figueredo and asked him to write an anthem with the melody they were humming. Right on the saddle of his horse, Figueredo wrote the lyrics of the anthem, which was longer than the current official version. Figueredo was captured and executed by the Spaniards two years later. Just before the firing squad received the Fire command, Figueredo shouted the line from his anthem: Morir por la Patria es vivir . Officially adopted in 1902, the anthem was retained after the revolution of 1959. The arrangement commonly used, without credit in Cuba , is believed to be that of José Norman, author of Cuban...

The Olympics Games (an international sporting event played every four years) has its own flag and "hymn", used when the Olympic flag is raised, usually during the opening ceremonies. The Olympic Hymn first appeared at the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece. The lyrics were written in Greek by Greece's national poet, Costis Palamas and set to music by Spirou Samara for the 1896 Games. The hymn was unofficial until 1958, when the International Olympic Committee formally adopted it. (From 1896 to the 1960 Games, each country would commission local composers to compose an Olympic hymn for that particular Games. The 1960 Games was the first that the Olympic Hymn was played for since the first games.) Usually every nation that hosts the Games performs the Olympic Hymn in their own language, the original Greek lyrics, and a translation into English, is presented for reference. National anthems play a big part in the Olympic Games. Starting with the 1924 Games, the w...