Happy 204th birthday Mexico!  In celebration of the occasion, I'm introducing a new series: Anthemology.  This series will focus on the roots of and relationships between national anthems the world over, letting us learn about a nation's psyche by the symbols it chooses for itself.

Today we look at Mexico's national anthem, a belligerent, patriotic march written by a love poet and a Spaniard.

After a national lyric-writing contest was announced in 1853, the romantic poet Francisco González Bocanegra was forced to enter by his then-fiancée Guadalupe del Pino. With her parents' help...