Oreste Sindici
Italian-born Colombian musician and composer (1828–1904) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oreste Sindici (May 31, 1828 – January 12, 1904) was an Italian-born Colombian musician and composer. He composed the music for the Colombian national anthem in 1887.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Oreste_Sindici.jpg)
He was born in Ceccano (Province of Frosinone) and studied in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at Rome.
He arrived in Bogotá in 1863 as a singer with an opera company[1] and lived and worked as a musician in Colombia until his death. In 1887 he was asked to compose the music to a poem written by Rafael Núñez. The song was released on November 11, 1887, in commemoration of the Independence of Cartagena de Indias.[2] In 1920 this song officially became the Colombian national anthem.[3]
Oreste Sindici died in Bogotá on January 12, 1904, due to severe arteriosclerosis. In 1937 the Colombian government honored his memory.[4]