the "" ("Patriotic Song"), under which name it was to be known at the time. Vincenti arrived in La Paz in September 1844 and found the musical bands in a dire state, as could be established in his family letters. His work was exhausting; many times, he went to bed dressed to go to the barracks at dawn. The trials were long and pressing. Vincenti rejected one text after another; it was then that lawyer and poet José Ignacio Sanjinéz presented him with the verses of what is now the Bolivian national anthem, originally written in Spanish. In the La Paz Plaza Murillo at noon on 18 November 1845, after Te Deum was performed at the Cathedral of La Paz in honour of the Battle of Ingavi, the military bands of the Battalions 5th, 6th and 8th played, for the first time, the chords of the Bolivian national anthem. Ballivián came out excited to one of the balconies of the Palacio Quemado, profusely congratulating the performance. That same night, simultaneously, the was premiered in a lyrical-musical programme, a central part of which was the interpretation of the "". The new theatre was packed: the president of the republic, José Ballivián, attended with his cabinet; prefectural, municipal and public authorities gathered. Lyrics Spanish original In indigenous languages Notes References See also Read full texts on Wikisource Read full Spanish texts on the Spanish Wikisource External links Bolivia: Himno Nacional de Bolivia - Audio of the national anthem of Bolivia, with information and lyrics (archive link) Bolivian songs Bolivia National symbols of Bolivia Spanish-language songs Bolivia National anthem compositions in B-flat major