The music was originally credited to
Félix Astol Artés in 1867 as a habanera
danza, with romantic lyrics, but there is some evidence that Francisco Ramírez, a native of
San Germán, wrote the music In 1868,
Lola Rodríguez de Tió wrote a poem in support of the
Puerto Rican revolution, which was set to the Ramírez/Astol music. In fear of investigation by the Spanish government, Ramírez asked Astol to claim authorship of the music since he was a native of
Catalonia and would, therefore, raise no suspicion. According to Puerto Rico Law # 2 of July 24, 1952, both "La Borinqueña" and "
The Star-Spangled Banner" are played at official events. During international sports competitions such as the Olympics, only "La Borinqueña" is played. The anthem, with its revolutionary lyrics, was featured in
Steven Spielberg's
2021 film adaptation of the stage musical
West Side Story, sung by the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, early in the film. It was never used in the stage version nor its
1961 film adaptation prior to this film. ==Lyrics==