Songs for Hispanic Heritage Month

A culturally responsive music curriculum can provide many opportunities for students to explore their own identities and learn about less familiar cultures, countries, and traditions. My home state, North Carolina, has well over a million Hispanic residents, and that number is growing rapidly. Our wonderful Spanish teachers incorporate singing into their lessons, but I like to also include Spanish-language songs in my curriculum for deeper learning and to emphasize that Hispanic culture isn't just for Spanish class! One of my favorites, “Vengan a ver," is a song that serves a similar purpose in the Spanish-speaking world to “Old McDonald Had a Farm” in the English-speaking world. The kids absolutely love this and delight in challenging me to name animals in Spanish. 

Vengan a Ver

Vengan a ver mi granja, que es hermosa

Vengan a ver mi granja, que es hermosa

El cerdito hace así: oinc, oinc

El cerdito hace así: oinc, oinc

O va, camarad’, o va, camarad’, o va o va o va

O va, camarad’, o va, camarad’, o va o va o va

Translation:

Come and see my farm, because it’s beautiful (x2)

The piggy goes like this: “oink, oink” (x2)

Oh come, friend, oh come, friend, oh come oh come oh come (x2)

Of course, the most fun part of the song is inserting the animals. I also like to make it additive—each verse, after adding the new animal, we go back through the ones we’ve already done. Here are a few animals we enjoy:

 

Pato/Patito (duck/duckie)

Vaca/Vacita (cow)

Gallina (hen)

Gallo (rooster)

Oveja (sheep)

Caballo (horse)

Perro/perrito (dog/doggie)

Gato/gatito (cat/kitty)

Cobaya (guinea pig)

Serpiente (snake)

Elefante (elephant)

Other songs we’ll be learning include the classic De Colores and La Araña pequeñita (the itsy bitsy spider).

Music Workshop is a free resource for music educators that has some excellent video content about musical cultures, instruments, etc. We’ve watched parts of the Latin American Music video in our Lower School music classes over the last week, and the kids have especially enjoyed seeing the wide variety of current/“cool” songs and modern concerts shown alongside more traditional music. They’ve also enjoyed a couple Mariachi excerpts from the fabulous Pixar movie “Coco.”

Let me know what other Latin American songs you like to sing!