Unofficially, the anthem is sometimes called "Tu bandera es un lampo de cielo" ("Your flag is a splendour of sky"), which is in the first line of the chorus.
115,[2] during the presidency of Miguel Rafael Dávila Cuéllar, at the initiative of deputies Rómulo E. Durón and Ramón Valladares.
[2] Later, a competition was held in which those who competed included Valentín Durón, Santos B. Tercero, Jerónimo Reyna, Juan Ramón Molina and Alfonso Guillén Zelaya [es].
For official functions and school exercises, only the chorus and seventh verse are sung, which was ordered in the late 1920s by minister Presentacion Centeno during the presidency of Miguel Paz Barahona.
[1] During sport events where brevity is essential, a shorter, abridged version is performed which usually consists of only one repeat of the chorus and a section of the verse.
The chorus, which is sung before and after the seventh verse, is a description of Honduras's chief national symbols, the flag and the coat of arms.
[1] By the time Hondurans complete their sixth year of elementary education, they will have memorised and been taught the meaning of the chorus and all seven stanzas.
Patria a la muerte, Generosa será nuestra suerte, Si morimos pensando en tu amor.
Por tres siglos tus hijos oyeron El mandato imperioso del amo; Por tres siglos tu inútil reclamo En la atmosfera azul se perdió; Pero un día gloria tu oído Percibió, poderoso y distante, Que allá lejos, por sobre el Atlante, Indignado rugía un León.
Patria a la muerte, Generosa será nuestra suerte, Si morimos pensando en tu amor.
When you raised your pale forehead, In the lively anxiety of your longing, Under the gentle dome of your sky A foreign banner was already floating.
It was useless that the Indian, your beloved, Prepare to fight with ire, Because, enveloped in his blood, Lempira Sank into the deep night; And of the epic feat, in memory, The legend alone has kept From a tomb the unknown place And the harsh profile of a crag.
And in your blessed soil, behind the tall Hair of the wild jungle, Like a bird of black plumage, The fleeting colony was lost.