Articles about 'Cuba'
March 20th, 2013
Ed wrote asking for help with a Cuban Kids Song. Here’s his letter:
Dear Mama Lisa,
As a child I heard my father sing a song that he said was sung by Cuban children when he lived there in the 1930’s.
The refrain was “Curi, Curi Canga, malamalamalanga” and, ultimately, was the only part of the song that...
February 17th, 2012
Open Culture has a page of free language learning links covering 40 languages.
Here are some of the languages you can find links for…
Arabic, English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, Catalan, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Finnish, Gaelic, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Maori, Norwegian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swahili,...
November 11th, 2011
The fifteenth birthday is very important for girls in many Latin American countries and in some Hispanic communities in the US. It’s called Quince or Quinceañera (15 years). It marks a girl becoming an adult. It’s a bit like the Jewish Bar Mitzvah, a Sweet 16 Party and a Debutante Ball all mixed into one. ...
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November 29th, 2010
Noche de paz is the Spanish version of Silent Night. This Christmas Carol was originally written in German in 1816 by Joseph Mohr. It was called Stille Nacht.
Below you can listen to Noche de paz, read the Spanish lyrics and then a literal English translation of the Spanish version.
MP3 Recording of...
June 8th, 2010
Here’s a picture drawn by a Cuban child. It’s about friendship and children’s rights.
“Derechos de un niño” is literally “Rights of a child”. “Children’s Rights” is typically written, “Los derechos del niño” or “derechos infantiles”.
What a great drawing!
Mama Lisa
May 21st, 2010
This illustration was drawn by a diabetic child explaining the daily routine to be followed by a patient with diabetes in order to control the disease. The artist is from Cuba, so the text is in Spanish. I provided English translations below each image.
Here are zoomed-in views so you can see the details…
“No...
November 7th, 2009
Jeanette wrote to us looking for the lyrics to a Cuban lullaby and I think we can help with this one! Here’s her letter, followed by the song she’s looking for…
Lisa,
There is a nursery rhyme or song that my grandmother used to sing to me (she has been dead about 8 years now) that...
July 13th, 2009
Alicia wrote:
Dear all,
I have had a friend at home that goes to a Canadian school in Cuba. He sings a song:
Like a tree
We would grow
We’re a family
Don´t you know
We were planted a long time ago
Like a tree we would try
Branches reaching
Towards the sky…
Or something like that. He sang it very quickly and I...
March 24th, 2009
I was inspired to post De colores now because of a drawing my daughter created the other day – it made me think of All the Colors! The song is a celebration of the colors of Spring!
This song is originally from Spain. The first translation below was done to fit the tune, so you...
March 18th, 2009
Élodie Chebat sent us Yo te daré in Spanish with an mp3 recording. You can hear her sing it below, and read along with the lyrics, followed by an English translation…
MP3 of Yo te daré
Yo te daré
Yo te daré
Te daré mi hermosa
Te daré una cosa
Una cosa que yo sólo sé, café
I Will Give You
(English...
February 26th, 2009
Adrinel emailed me…
To whom it may concern:
I was wondering if you had a CD available to purchase of the children’s nursery rhymes… I was looking for Los pollitos especially..
Thanks!
Adrinel
Below are some CD’s and MP3’s from Amazon I found with Los Pollitos on them. I’m giving the links below to buy the cd’s as regular...
February 22nd, 2009
We’d love it if you’d join the Mama Lisa Facebook Group. You can post anything you’d like about your culture. You can post your own musical recordings or YouTube videos… Links to culture and musical sites… Photos of your country… Questions about songs or cultural issues… Anything related to World Culture and...
February 21st, 2009
Sabrina wrote to me looking for help with a Spanish lullaby, possibly from the Dominican Republic…
Hey Lisa,
I don’t know if you can help me out. My name is Sabrina, I am 29 years old and I was married to a Dominican man who unfortunately passed away of cancer last year. I am originally from Germany,...
December 23rd, 2008
I just found a treasure trove of online recordings of Spanish kids songs and the Spanish lyrics in PDF form in an online book called CANTAR, TOCAR Y JUGAR – Juegos musicales para niños (Sing and Play – Musical Games for Children) by Pilar Posada Saldarriaga.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
December 22nd, 2008
I love how this Carol sounds in Spanish. The R’s are a bit challenging to sing – if you’re not a native speaker – at least for me they are!
Below you’ll find the Spanish lyrics to “Ay del chiquirritín”, followed by an English translation, then an mp3 recording and finally a YouTube video...
October 22nd, 2008
Mily wrote:
Hello,
I was born in Cuba but grew up in the US. When I was little my mother used to sing a song to me at bedtime and I have been trying to find the complete lyrics but haven’t been able to. The part I remember goes:
Al reflejo de la palida luna
En un...
October 10th, 2008
I just learned this Spanish version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. It’s called Vamos a remar en un botecito (Let’s Go Rowing in a Little Boat). Below you’ll find it in Spanish, with an English translation and the midi tune.
Listen to the Tune to Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Vamos a remar en...
December 29th, 2007
In many parts of the world, the foods eaten on New Years Eve and New Years Day have important symbolic meanings. These symbols seem to fall into several major categories.
The first class symbolizes financial prosperity. This type of food is round like coins. Often, the dish will be round beans, like lentils,...
October 16th, 2007
Here’s a nice, gently scary song you might like to teach your children or students for Halloween or Day of the Dead. It’s called Los esqueletos or The Skeletons. In Costa Rica it’s used to teach numbers in an exciting way!
My husband and I loosely translated the English version so that...
June 18th, 2007
Liz wrote:
As a child staying in Spain with family friends, I remember learning a song about a sardine. I can remember that as part of the song it traveled over mountains. I can remember laughing so much with my best friend who was Spanish, about this sardine travelling over mountains.
Has anyone else got...
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