Is there a Specific Recipe that goes with the Mexican Song Bate bate chocolate?
September 12th, 2011

Yesterday, we posted a request for information about the Mexican song "Bate bate chocolate".  Today, we found a slightly different version that may refer to a recipe.  Here it is:

Bate bate chocolate
(Spanish Lyrics)

Bate bate chocolate,
con arroz y con tomate
Uno, dos, tres, CHO!,
uno, dos, tres, CO!
Uno, dos, tres, LA!,
uno, dos, tres, TE!
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!*

English Translation:

Beat, beat the chocolate,
with rice and with tomato
One, two, three, "Cho"
One, two, three, "co"
One, two, three, "la"
One, two, three, "te"!
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! *

*In some alternate versions, the last line can repeat the first two lines: "Bate bate chocolate, con arroz y con tomate".

I’ve also seen references to another recipe which might be the subject of this song, one that includes the ingredients that the song lists, chocolate, rice and tomatoes.  Do you know this dish?  We’d love to hear about it and learn how to make it.

Thanks in advance for any info!

Mama Lisa

This article was posted on Monday, September 12th, 2011 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Languages, Mexican Children's Songs, Mexico, Questions, Recipes of the World, Spain, Spanish, Spanish Kids Songs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

4 Responses to “Is there a Specific Recipe that goes with the Mexican Song Bate bate chocolate?”

  1. kimber hawkey Says:
    October 21st, 2011 at 7:10 pm

    I think that this is simply the idea of beating the hot chocolate so that it foams (there is a special utensil rolled in the hands) whereas the other two are just for rhyming perhaps. The horchata in Mexico is made with arroz, but never have heard of a recipe for either including tomatoes.

    Buena suerte!

    Kimber Hawkey
    French,Spanish,ESL Educator

  2. denise mirás Says:
    November 15th, 2011 at 9:03 pm

    I think it’s only a rhyme, no more….!
    well, in Portuguese we have a lot of children’s songs that have no meaning at all, it’s just because the word sounds good!

  3. Betsy Diamant-Cohen Says:
    July 3rd, 2012 at 11:50 pm

    It is a rhyme about making hot chocolate the Mexican way, using a stirring device called a molinillo. Here is a recipe: http://zested.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/mexican-hot-chocolate-a-molinillo/

    And here is an article that talks about the molinillo and recites the rhyme to go along with it:
    http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2006/12/mexican-hot-chocolate-and-molinillo.html

  4. Linda Wood Says:
    October 28th, 2012 at 8:57 am

    This is a rhyme about making mole, a stew with rice, tomatoes, meat and an unusual mix of spices and flavorings, including cocoa. When I teach it to my students, we also read the children’s book “Holy Mole,” the legend of how mole came to be. My students love the rhyme, game and book, since mole is considered quite a treat!

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