"Pátria" is the national anthem

National anthem

A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...

 of the Democratic Republic of East Timor

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

. It was first used on November 28, 1975, when East Timor unilaterally declared independence from Portugal, shortly before the Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

n invasion on December 7.

Following Indonesia's withdrawal and the transition to independence under UN administration, it was adopted as the national anthem on independence on May 20, 2002.

The music was composed by Afonso de Araujo, and the words were written by the poet Francisco Borja da Costa

Francisco Borja da Costa

Francisco Borja da Costa was the composer of Pátria, the national anthem of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, ando also a poet, writing the majority of his work in tetum language. Borja da Costa died at December 7, 1975, the same day of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor...

, who was killed on the day of the invasion. It is only sung in Portuguese, there is as yet no version in Tetum, the country's national and co-official language.

Lyrics

Portugese lyrics

English translation

Pátria, Pátria, Timor-Leste, nossa Nação. Glória ao povo e aos heróis da nossa libertação. Pátria, Pátria, Timor-Leste, nossa Nação. Glória ao povo e aos heróis da nossa libertação. Vencemos o colonialismo, gritamos: abaixo o imperialismo. Terra livre, povo livre, não, não, não à exploração. Avante unidos firmes e decididos. Na luta contra o imperialismo o inimigo dos povos, até à vitória final. Pelo caminho da revolução.

Fatherland, fatherland, East Timor our Nation Glory to the people and to the heroes of our liberation Fatherland, fatherland, East Timor our Nation Glory to the people and to the heroes of our liberation We vanquish colonialism, we cry: Down with imperialism! Free land, free people, No, no to exploitation. Let us go forward, united, firm and determined In the struggle against imperialism, The enemy of people, until final victory, Onward to revolution.

External links

• Timor Crocodilo Voador - This Brazil-based website about East Timor information includes an .mp3 file of the Full Anthem.
• Welcome to Timor Leste - The Official Tourism website of East Timor features its own version of the anthem, which uses only the chorus.