ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the Himno Nacional Mexicana (HNM) became heritage, its process during different historical periods, and the ways schools affected its teaching and diffusion. It addresses the national anthem from the vantage point of heritage, considered by Florescano to be 'one of the solidest elements of social identification'. The chapter observes with Agustín Vaca that, different from the concept of collective memory, heritage is a result of modernity. It describes the history of the appearance of HNM, its consolidation as an official anthem, and the educational process that has brought it heritage status. Eric Hobsbawm observes that 'the invention of public ceremonies had the objective of transforming the republic's inheritance into a conjoint expression of State pomp and power, and citizens' joy'. The HNM's music, originally conceived in E-flat major for military band instruments of the day and for trained singing voices, had to be converted to C Major to make it more suitable for untrained voices.
