2014/07/19

247211.- Himno del Estado Mérida.-

Himno del Edo. Mérida
DOMINGO, 19 de Julio DEl 2014

El Himno del Estado fue compuesto por el Dr. Antonio Febres Cordero (1872-1947) y
la música se debe a Gil Antonio Gil. El ilustre merideño Febres Cordero fue un
abogado y profesor universitario, llegando a ocupar altos cargos en la rama de la
educación pública, como vice-rector de la Universidad Central de Venezuela.

El himno exalta en tono patriótico la participación de los hombres de Mérida en la
lucha por la Independencia. Son estrofas muy hermosas, donde se describe en forma
sucinta la historia de Mérida, desde la conquista y la colonia, hasta las guerras
fratricidas del siglo XIX, pasando por los acontecimientos de la emancipación de
España. Curiosamente contiene el único poema conocido del Libertador, la estrofa
número X, en donde trata de consolar a Don Antonio Ignacio Rodríguez Picón de la
pérdida de sus hijos en las luchas por la libertad. Dicha estrofa aparece en una carta
oficial de Bolívar, el 25 de Julio de 1813, después de la batalla de Los Horcones,
dirigida a Rodríguez Picón, quien era el gobernador de la provincia de Mérida.

También en la estrofa VI se rinde un homenaje al héroe merideño Luis María Rivas
Dávila , quien cayó en la batalla de La Victoria y su último deseo antes de morir, fue el
de legar la bala que lo hirió mortalmente a su esposa, para que la conservara como un
símbolo de su sacrificio por la patria naciente.
Tradicionalmente el himno del Estado Mérida se interpreta con un coro y las estrofas I y II, pero realmente esta compuesto por doce estrofas
Letra: Dr. Antonio Febres Cordero
Música: Gil Antonio Gil 
Coro
Con orgullo lancemos al Viento
La canción de la tierra natal
de confín a confín que resuene
de la tierra la Patria Triunfal
I
Del preciado laurel se corona
como madre de sabios varones
y figuran su timbre guerrero
Esculpido en sus patrios blasones
II
Porque fue de las siete provincias
Que ganaron la heráldica estrella
y por eso muy alta en los fastos
Cual sus níveas montañas descuella.
Coro...
III
Donde se alzan los montes andinos
Coronados de fúlgido hielo
Donde duermen clavadas las águilas
De los los índicos mitos del suelo
IV
De allí salen los bravos hidalgos
Con la rica y gentil armadura
A luchar del terrible pirata
Que doquiera sembrar a pavura
Coro...
V
De allí salen los tiernos donceles
que se cubren de honor en la Hazaña
El varón que realiza prodigios
Al batir las legiones de España
VI
Y el que lega la bala a su esposa
En señal de una dicha postrera
Al caer inspirante y sublime
Victoreando la santa bandera.
Coro...
VII
Con sus clásicos glorias La Sierra
En sus patrios anales fulgura
Como el limpio cristal de su nieve
Centelleante y grandiosa en la altura.
VIII
¿Qué alabanza al honor de sus hijos
Que alabanza más grande en la tierra
Ser cantado del héroe que guía
Con su espada de fuego la guerra.
Coro...
IX
Recordemos que el mismo Bolívar
Con grandiosas palabras nos llama
Cuando dicta las partes del triunfo
En sus únicos versos exclama.
X
Y tú padre que exhalas suspiros
Al perder el objeto más tierno
Interrumpe tu llanto y recuerda
Que el amor a la patria es primero.
Coro...
XI
Compatriotas juremos unidos
Odio santo a la lucha de hermanos
Tras el siglo que en libres naciones
Convirtió los dominios hispanos.
XII
Ya no más la doméstica guerra
Que desdichas muy hondas nos trajo
Y a la patria rindamos el culto
De la santa virtud del trabajo.
Addthis

247210.- La Anciana.-



Good Shabbos, my pals! I was profoundly moved by this story:

"I arrived at the address and honked the horn. after waiting a few minutes I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

"After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

"By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

"There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said.
I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

"She kept thanking me for my kindness.

'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

"'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked,

'Could you drive through downtown?'

"'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

"'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice. '

"I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.'What route would you like me to take?' I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

"We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

"As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

"We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

"Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

"I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

"'Nothing,' I said

"'You have to make a living,' she answered.

"'There are other passengers,' I responded.

"Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.
She held onto me tightly.

"'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. ‘Thank you.'

"I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life...

"I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought.

For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

"What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

"On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life."

By Kent Nerburn, from his book "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace."

With thanks to Rabbi Aryeh Markman of Aish LA

Shabbat Shalom!