Mnemonic Entrepreneurship and Trans(articu)lation of the Philippine National Anthem

• Main Author: Martin, Jocelyn S
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2022
• Subjects: Lupang Hinirang; translation; memory; nation; flag; hymn; Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education; English Language and Literature
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/english-faculty-pubs/172; https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Translation-and-Memory/Deane-Cox-Spiessens/p/book/9780815372158#
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Patterned after the Spanish and French national hymns; the Philippine national anthem; the Lupang Hinirang; was originally composed as an instrumental piece on which lyrics in Spanish were later added. Then translated into English until its current version in Filipino; the song is now canonised by law and rituals. In this essay; I discuss translation and memory into two sections: one that looks into the visible and official facets of the anthem; another that scrutinises its spectral and archival characteristics. The first part analyses aspects of the “Lupang Hinirang”s inter-linguistic translations; its evolution from archive to canon and its status as lieu de mémoire. As such; I draw mainly from Michael Coroza; Theo Hermans; Aleida Assman; and Pierre Nora. In the second section; I re-examine the anthem by drawing from theories of translation as afterlife and survival; and memory as trace and archival. I argue that the Philippine national anthem is a product of mnemonic entrepreneurs and mnemonic trans(articu)lation. Mnemonic entrepreneurs include translators; people and institutions that intervene in discursive positions that determine what is to be remembered and forgotten. Mnemonic trans(articu)lation combines the aspects of memory; translation; and articulation. Articulation; as coined by Stuart Hall; implies the ways in which one is positioned by and how one positions others within the shifting powers in socio-politico-cultural relations. As such; mnemonic trans(articu)lation indicates how memory and translation politics and practices travel and thrive within cultural and historical hegemony. Lastly; since a national anthem is expected to represent a nation; I conclude with some reflections on the re-translatability of the nation.