We present this work in honor of the Mexican holiday, Constitution Day.

 

Plunged into the silence of the grave,
Were found the Mexican people:
Fatal silence interrupted only
By the chains they dragged.

The last groan of the unhappy slave
Was punished as if it had been an atrocious crime,
Or it resounded in the ears of the
Oppressors as if it were triumphal music.

Hidalgo cried at last with voice divine:
“Freedom to Mexico, and forever!”
And hurled war at the Spanish tyrant.

Eleven years the mortal conflict lasted;
The throne crumbled, and in its ruins
Floats the standard of liberty.

Translation by Ernest S. Green and H. Von Lowenfels