About

José Palma y Velásquez was a Filipino poet and soldier. He was on the staff of La independencia at the time he wrote "Filipinas", a patriotic poem in Spanish. It was published for the first time in the issue of the first anniversary of La independencia on September 3, 1899. The poem fit the instrumental tune "Marcha Nacional Filipina" by Julián Felipe, and it has since been the basis for every translation of the Philippine National Anthem.