On August 2, the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (CEC) chose the song "Demos el primer paso" as an official hymn for the visit of Pope Francis to Colombia.
Through the "Sing to the Pope" contest, the CEC received 465 song proposals, of which ten finalists remained. The winning song is titled "Let's take the first step" and is performed by the organization United Catholic Musicians of Colombia (MCU).
This group brings together 70 representatives of all music ministries, made up of laity and religious, in the country.
"The news that our song will be the one with which we will receive the Holy Father makes us super happy, and our heart is filled with singing for the Vicar of Christ on earth," MCU spokeswoman Ana Bolívar told Catholic News Agency.
"We are very happy because from the first moment we composed the song we feel that we really represent Colombia, the musicians who, from Sunday to Sunday, serve in the parishes and in the churches of our country," she continued.
Bolivar said that the inspiration to compose this song, whose title coincides with the official motto of the Pope's visit, was "the reality of our country."
"We wanted to reach the hearts of children, young people, grandparents, parents, with a fresh song, an honest song, a song that had a powerful message of hope, joy and open invitation to take that first step of receiving the Lord in the heart," she said.
The spokeswoman of the MCU clarified that this song was not composed for the contest, but was an initiative of the organization to welcome Pope Francis when they learned of the official dates of the apostolic visit.
Seven people worked together to write the composition, among which was Ana Bolivar. The 70 members of the group performed the song.
"The Lord had already put the idea in our hearts to write a song to receive the Holy Father. When the CEC launched the contest we decided to send it there," said Bolivar.
"Let's take the first step" fuses Latin pop and rap music genres. The first is very popular in Colombia. The chorus says "you bring us light, you bring us peace, you bring us words of truth. And our people will know how to find freedom in God."
