The first part of "A guanchilopostle" is sung to the tune to "Arroz con leche"...

Notes

We asked Camilo Albornoz about the meaning of the first line "A guanchilopostle, a huanchiloé". He said, "It means absolutely nothing. It's only a play on words as there are in many Mexican songs and also in songs in other languages. But in Mexico, they're abundant, I think, because of the influence of native languages." The original native languages in Mexico are Mayan, Nahuatl and other regional languages.

Game Instructions

The children hold hands and form a circle. One child goes in the middle. They sing while going around. At "Chepi, chepi…" they stop and clap their hands while the one in the middle dances. At the end of the song, the one in the middle closes his/her eyes, spins around and points to another child and they swap roles.

Comments

Another version:

"A guanchilopostle, a guan chilo es
A ver, señorita qué tal baila usted.

Oh chepi chepi chepi, oh lero lero lé.
Que se dé media vuelta para ver quién es."

English Translation:

A guanchilopostle, a huanchiloé
So show us senorita the way you can dance.

Oh chepi chepi chepi, oh lero lero lé.
Turn around so we can see who you are.

This song can also be found with "chequi chequi chequi..." instead of "chepi chepi chepi..." in the last verse.

Download

Many thanks to Camilo Albornoz from Mojiganga for sending us their recording of this song.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Camilo Albornoz for contributing this song. Translated into English by Monique Palomares and Lisa Yannucci.

¡Muchas gracias!