Francisco González Bocanegra (January 8, 1824 – April 11, 1861) was a Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 poet who wrote the lyrics of the Mexican National Anthem in 1853.

He was born in San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí

San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí

San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital of, and most populous city in the Mexican state of the same name. The city lies at an elevation of 1,850 meters...

 to Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 soldier José María González Yáñez and Francisca Bocanegra y Villalpando, sister of the Foreign Relations Secretary under President

President of Mexico

The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...

 Vicente Guerrero

Vicente Guerrero

Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and served briefly as President of Mexico...

, José María Bocanegra

José María Bocanegra

José María Bocanegra was a Mexican lawyer and politician who was briefly interim president of Mexico in 1829....

. Despite his father being exempted because of being married to a Mexican, in 1827, his family moved to Spain after a law was enacted expelling all remaining Spanish citizens in the country. They settled in the port of Cádiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

 until the family returned to San Luis Potosí on December 28, 1836.

He died in 1861 and is buried in the Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres

Panteón de Dolores

The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest cemetery in Mexico and contains the "Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres" . It is located on Constituyentes Avenue in Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, between sections two and three of Chapultepec Park...

 (Rotunda of Illustrious Men) in Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

.

Writing of the Mexican National Anthem

While Gonzalez was engaged to be married to Guadalupe González del Pino (Pili), there was a contest to compose the lyrics to the Mexican national anthem. Legend has it that Gonzalez did not wish to write lyrics for the competition, but Pili knew of his special talents and wanted him to enter. In order to do this, Pili lured Gonzalez into a room in her home and proceeded to lock Gonzalez inside. The only way Pili would let Gonzalez out of the room is if he writes a composition for the anthem competition. Gonzalez did and he was freed. Several days later, Gonzalez's entry for the anthem contest was declared the winner.