I am very unhappy to hear the American anthym sung in Spanish at Ellis Island. I have never been aware of any large group of Mexican Nationals that entered this country through Ellis Island. In my opinion this is just another gimmick they are using to insult the people of the U.S.
Spanish-Language 'Star Spangled Banner' Performed at Ellis Island
Wednesday, May 31, 2006

NEW YORK — Singers performed a Spanish-language version of the national anthem at Ellis Island, once the gateway to America for more than 12 million immigrants.

With the Manhattan skyline behind them, Tony Sunshine and others sang "Nuestro Himno," which created a public backlash in April and led President Bush to declare "the national anthem ought to be sung in English."

About 100 people, mostly journalists and members of the music industry, attended the presentation Tuesday of the album "Somos Americanos (We Are Americans)," which features "Nuestro Himno" and other Spanish-language songs about the immigrant experience.

"We want to broadcast the anthem with patriotism, love and respect", music producer Eduardo Reyes said.

At least one version contains lines in English that condemn U.S. immigration laws, but Reyes said the Spanish lyrics are the same as on a Congress Web site. The Spanish version of "The Star Spangled Banner" was translated by Francis Haffkine Snow in 1919 in response to a Capitol Hill request, he said.

Adam Kidron, president of Urban Box Office Inc., which produced the album, said he hoped the song would be become the anthem of recent pro-immigrant protests. Despite the publicity, it has gotten little radio play, though.

Kidron said his company will donate a dollar from the sale of each album to the National Capital Immigration Coalition and the Latin War Veterans.

A video of "Nuestro Himno" was also unveiled Tuesday.

I would like to make a small point. Many politicians are quoting the words of the poem "New Colossus that was added to the park at the base of the Statue of Liberty in the early 1903.

The "New Colossus": Famous sonnet written by Emma Lazarus in 1883. A bronze plaque, dedicated in memory of Emma Lazarus' contribution to the completion of the Statue's pedestal, has been affixed to the inner walls of the pedestal since the early 1900's. This plaque, currently located in the Statue of Liberty exhibit, has come to symbolize the statue's universal message of hope and freedom for immigrants coming to America and people seeking freedom around the world.
Poem by Emma Lazarus written in 1883 to help fundraising for the Pedestal:
(Bronze plaque with the poem was mounted in the base of the Statue in 1903)

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
with conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"