Hispanic Heritage Month goes from 9/15 to 10/15. What a wonderful opportunity to incorporate more Latinx music into music class! Each of these Spanish language songs comes from a different Latin American country/territory: Peru, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
El Cucú
First up, let’s go to Peru! My first encounter with this round was actually in English, but I was delighted to learn that it originated in Peru, in Spanish.
Translation:
In a distant forest, a cuckoo sings now. Hidden in the foliage, the owl answered, “Cuckoo,” he called. “Cuckoo,” he called. “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.” “Cuckoo,” he called. “Cuckoo,” he called. “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.”
At the beginning of teaching this song, I recommend learning it unison on a neutral syllable like “loo.” Once students are comfortable with the pronunciation in their speaking voices, they can transition to their singing voices. When introducing the canon, here’s what I recommend.
- Class vs. Teacher (teacher sings part 2)
- Teacher vs. Class (teacher sings part 1)
- Class vs. teacher and volunteers (small group of volunteers sing part 2 with teacher)
- Half vs. Half (divide the class into 2 parts based on proximity)
- Half vs. Half (have the same halves try the other singing part)
La Víbora de la Mar
“La Víbora de la Mar” is a classic children’s game from Mexico that they also play at weddings. The game is like London Bridge meets Tug of War. The song is very long and wordy, so you may want to share the translation with the students (see the image below for a translation), but skip teaching the song, or only teach the first verse. After all, this song is really about playing the game.
Playing the game: Two students make an arch. One is named the melon (cantaloupe), and the other is the sandía (watermelon). The rest of the students join hands and play the role of the serpent. They loop under the arch as the music plays. When the arch drops (whenever the melon and sandía choose to do so), they’ll catch a student. The caught student decides whether to join the melón side or the sandía side, creating an additional arch behind them. The game continues, now with two arches to loop through, and a new arch is added each time a player is caught. Once everyone has picked a side, the two sides compete in a tug of war. If you’re looking for more about this activity, or more ideas for incorporating Mexican music during Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond, click here to view my Music of Mexico unit.
Cheki Morena
“Cheki Morena” is a singing game from Puerto Rico, and it’s great for teaching syncopa. If you’ve ever played “Little Sally Water,” the game is similar.
Translation:
Shake it, brown girl, shake it
Shake it, brown girl, hey!
Where’s that
Wild rhythm of the mercumbe (a type of dance that is a mix between Merengue and Cumbia)
One small step forward
And another small step back
Going round in a circle, going round in a circle Who will be the next? Hey!
Playing the game: Make a standing circle with one person in the middle. If the student identifies as female, use “morena,” If the student identifies as male, use “moreno,” or if the student identifies as non-binary, use “morene.” During the first verse, everyone dances side to side. During the second verse, step forward and step back as the lyrics say. During “y dando la vuelta,” the person in the middle covers their eyes with one hand and spins around with the other hand pointed out. On “Jue,” the person stops, and whomever they are pointing at goes in the middle next.
In addition to the fun game, I found this cool video with an Orff arrangement from Visual Musical Minds. Adding in this arrangement would be another cool way to expand upon this song and game during Hispanic Heritage Month
So there you have three songs for your upper elementary music students to enjoy during Hispanic Heritage Month, or any time of year. For more ideas, click here to see resources you may enjoy incorporating this month. And if you’re looking for a Día de los Muertos activity, click here to read a blog post about “It’s Skeleton Time!”
Happy teaching!
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