Rosetón MayorCatedral de Palma de Mallorca

A Song · A Saint · A Moment of Faith

Aquí Por Ti

A young man from Mallorca stood at the edge of the sea and chose. Three centuries later, Jaime Anglada wrote the prayer he might have said — and sang it beneath the rose window of Palma Cathedral.

Listen to the song Read the letter

Composed & performed byJaime AngladaPalma de Mallorca · 2013

In memory ofSaint Junípero Serra1713 — 1784 · Petra → California

Jaime Anglada at the Cathedral of Palma with his guitar — The ComposerJaime AngladaCathedral of Palma · 2013

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Statues show us what Serra looked like.Missions show us what Serra built.History books tell us what Serra did.‘Aquí Por Ti’ tells us what Serra felt.

It is not a hymn about a saint. It is a prayer — the one a young man might have said, alone, the night before the ocean. ¡Y rezo! And I pray.

The Song

Listen, and read along

The lyric video — every line in Spanish with its English beside it — over the recording from the night the song was first sung in La Seu.

The nave of Palma Cathedral lit by the rose window

Lyric video · Español / EnglishAquí Por Ti — Jaime Anglada, with the Simfònica de les Illes Balears

Listen · The Recording

Aquí Por Ti · Jaime Anglada

Jaime Anglada performs Aquí Por Ti at La Seu de Mallorca — Recorded at La Seu · 20 June 2013With the Simfònica de les Illes Balears

A baroque arrangement by Miquel Àngel Aguiló, performed live at the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Balearic Islands and the Military Band of the Comandància General de Balears.

All the videos on YouTube

The farewell letter Junípero Serra wrote from Cádiz in August 1749

The LetterCádiz · 20 August 1749

The letter that became the song

At thirty-five, at the height of a brilliant career, Junípero Serra asked to sail for the New World. He left Mallorca without saying goodbye to his parents — he feared he could not bear it. From Cádiz, on the eve of departure, he wrote to a fellow friar in Petra and asked him to read the letter aloud to them: Antonio and Margarita could not read. They never saw their son again. Two hundred and sixty-four years later, that letter was placed in Jaime Anglada's hands — and it became Aquí Por Ti.

«Por amor de Dios los he dejado.»“For the love of God I have left them.”
«Yo quisiera poder infundirles la gran alegría en que me encuentro, y pienso que me instarían a seguir adelante y no retroceder nunca.»“I wish I could fill them with the great joy that is mine; I believe they would urge me to go forward, and never turn back.”
«Verán cómo se les mudará en gran consuelo lo que ahora padecen como una aflicción.»“They will see how what they now suffer as sorrow will be turned into great consolation.”
«Si no nos volvemos a ver en esta vida, estemos juntos para siempre en la Gloria.»“If we do not see each other again in this life, let us be together forever in Glory.”

Fray Junípero Serra·To his parents, from Cádiz, 1749

Siempre adelante, nunca atrás.Always forward, never back. The saint's motto was not a slogan — it was what he wrote to console his mother and father.

The Words

The lyrics, side by side

Written in Spanish, translated for those who would listen across the ocean. Read them together, as the song was always meant to be heard.

Español

Aquí por ti

Cuando la tierra es fría Tu corazón arde Cuando tu alma quiere volar.

No existen despedidas El océano no es la huida Es el camino a tu verdad.

El desierto no es fácil Y el horizonte inmenso. ¡Y rezo!

¡Coge mi mano! ¡Coge mi mano! Estoy aquí. Por ti.

No hay vuelta atrás Vine a secar tus lágrimas No hay vuelta atrás.

No hay vuelta atrás Vine a mecer tus miedos Vine a llenar tus manos de bondad.

El desierto no es fácil Y el horizonte inmenso. ¡Y rezo!

¡Coge mi mano! ¡Coge mi mano! Estoy aquí. Por ti.

Cuando el viento quemó mi cara Y atrás el recuerdo de pare i mare Cuando mis pies se clavaron en tu arena Me puse al mercé del Santa Ana.

Fui marinero por ti. Atrás queda un Mediterráneo antiguo. Fui misionero por ti. Oh Señor, me diste fuerza y palabra.

El desierto no es fácil Y el horizonte inmenso. ¡Y rezo!

¡Coge mi mano! ¡Coge mi mano! Estoy aquí. Por ti.

Estuve aquí por ti. Fui todo, Señor, por ti.

English

Here for You

When the earth grows cold Your heart is burning When your soul wants to fly.

There are no goodbyes The ocean is not an escape It is the road to your truth.

The desert isn't easy And the horizon never ends. And I pray!

Take my hand! Take my hand! I am here. For you.

There is no going back I came to dry your tears. There is no going back.

There is no going back I came to calm your fears I came to fill your hands with goodness.

The desert isn't easy And the horizon never ends. And I pray!

Take my hand! Take my hand! I am here. For you.

When the wind burned across my face My mother and father I would see no more When my feet sank deep into your sands I cast all my hopes on the Santa Ana.

I was a sailor for you. I left behind the ancient Mediterranean. I was a missionary for you. Oh Lord, you gave me strength and voice.

The desert isn't easy And the horizon never ends. And I pray!

Take my hand! Take my hand! I am here. For you.

I was here for you. I was everything, Lord, for you.

Jaime Anglada reading the handwritten lyrics at the cathedral altar — Reading the song he wroteCatedral de Palma de Mallorca · 20 June 2013

The Songwriter

A song written from inside a letter

The commission came in 2013, for the tercentenary of Father Serra's birth: would a Mallorcan voice write something for the Mallorcan who had shaped a continent? How could I refuse?

With the commission came a gift: a copy of the last letter Serra wrote before sailing. “It was a farewell letter, profoundly beautiful,” Anglada said. “It moved me. He apologised for leaving, citing his unstoppable need to preach the Gospel.”

He wrote Aquí Por Ti from inside that letter — a son's apology, a son's resolve — and sent the sketch to his friend, the composer Miquel Àngel Aguiló, who gave it its baroque arrangement. “His orchestral writing gave it more strength. It moved me.”

The work was offered freely, as a benefit for Serra International. “It was an entirely charitable activity. There were production costs, of course — but I can boast of having good friends who helped reduce them.”

Read the words

El CaminoPetra 1713 → Carmel 1784

The road he walked

From a village in the red centre of an island to the far edge of the known world. Watch the light walk it — Petra, Palma, Cádiz, the Atlantic, Veracruz, Loreto, San Diego, Carmel.

The crossing & the road north El Camino Real — walked The nine missions he founded

Petra, Mallorca

1713 — 1730

Born 24 November 1713 to Antonio and Margarita, farmers of vineyards and wheat. So frail he was baptised the same day. He grew into a brilliant, restless child a small village could not keep.

Palma, the scholar

1730 — 1749

At fifteen he went to the Franciscans in Palma and took the name Junípero, after a companion of St. Francis. By twenty-four he was a doctor of philosophy; when he preached, the cathedral filled. Then, at thirty-five, he left it all.

Cádiz, the letter

August 1749

He waited months for a ship. On the eve of sailing he wrote the letter to his parents — and boarded the Villasota on 28 August 1749, a date that would come back for him on the far side of the world.

The journey

1749

Ninety-nine days at sea to Veracruz. From the coast he chose to walk to Mexico City rather than ride; an insect bite on that road left his leg wounded for the rest of his life. Then eight years in the Sierra Gorda, and Baja California.

Alta California

1769 — 1784

At fifty-five, on that same leg, he walked north. Fifteen years, nine missions — San Diego to San Francisco — and the road between them that came to be called El Camino Real. El desierto no es fácil, y el horizonte inmenso. ¡Y rezo!

Carmel, the end of the road

28 August 1784

He died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo, aged seventy — thirty-five years to the day since he sailed from Cádiz. Thirty-five years on the island, thirty-five on the other side of the world. He never returned to Mallorca. Canonised by Pope Francis in Washington on 23 September 2015 — the first saint canonised on American soil.

No existen despedidas.
El océano no es la huida —
es el camino a tu verdad.There are no goodbyes. The ocean is not an escape — it is the road to your truth.Aquí Por Ti · verse two

Follow the journey mission by mission — El Camino Real, on Instagram

Seen around the world

One song, many windows

Every week the song travels a little further — Mallorca, California, Rome, Latin America. A few of the moments the community has shared this year.

Petra at sunset — Cuando la tierra es fría

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For Serra Clubs & Parishes

Bring the song to your community

Aquí Por Ti was written as a gift to the world, and premiered at a benefit concert sponsored by Serra International. It is shared here with the kind permission of the Diocese of Mallorca — and it belongs in the places that keep his memory.

His days

28 August

Feast of Saint Junípero Serra · the day he sailed, and the day he died

24 November

His birthday · Petra, 1713

23 September

Canonised by Pope Francis · Washington, 2015

Two natural moments to share the song with your parish, chapter or school — a reflection before a meeting, a post on the feast day, music before Mass.

Share the song

Everything on this page may be shared freely: the videos, the recording, the lyrics in both languages, and the letter. Link to this site or to the YouTube channel, and tag @fatherserrasong so we can share it onward.

Would a choir or young musician in your community like to perform it? Write to us and we will put you in touch with the composer.

Get in touch

Serra Clubs, parishes, music directors, press — we would love to hear from you.

fatherserrasong@gmail.com Message us on Facebook

Walk with the songAquí Por Ti