Elcano First to Encircle the World

(Y Es ESPAÑOL ELCANO, EL PRIMERO EN DAR LA VUELTA AL MUNDO)

Whither is that fragile sailboat bound
that ploughs seas remote,
and proudly sails
seeking lands unkown?

Who is he that the vast world
unconquered and valiantly crosses,
from the profound Occident
to the rose Orient?

He's a hero of Spain,
new Titan of the Pyrenees,
who with rage defies
the hurricane if it detains him.

‘Tis Elcano who attempts
a venture that enchants the world;
he promises to accomplish it
and its magnitude daunts him not.

And like the red-tailed eagle
That soars in the wind
With unequalled flight
And rapid movement,

And of raucous tempest
The horrible hiss scorns,
And with majesty scoffs
At the crash of thunderbolts;

And like unyielding rock
Furors of impetuous Ocean
Or or the hurricane’s rigors
Alters not;

Such us Elcano the unconquered,
In crossing raging waves,
Taming them sovereign-like
With his Spanish vessels.

He crossed of the vast world
Its roundness victoriously,
And with valor second to none
The wide orb measured.

May thousand laurels crown your brow,
Athlete of the Spanish people;
And with refulgent diadem
Proudly fringe your temples.