Title: Jesusito de mi vida
General Information about Item:
Verbal Folklore
Language: Spanish
Country of Origin: Spain
Informant: I.G.
Date Collected: 10-23-21
Informant Data:
I.G. was born on December 11th, 2001. Her mom was born in the Dominican Republic, but lived in Spain. Her Grandparents were also from Spain. She spent most of her Childhood going back and forth between Spain and Miami. She currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Spanish was her first language growing up. I.G. is a sophomore on the lacrosse team at Dartmouth. Her parents are both very involved in the sports industry as her mother was a professional tennis player and her father, an agent. She shared with me that this lullaby we collected was a huge part of her life growing up, as well as in her mothers and grandparents’ lives due to its catholic roots.
Contextual Data:
Social Context:
This lullaby was sung to her every night before going to bed when she was little. Her mom felt it was the best way to stay connected with her family heritage while being so far away. I.G. grew accustomed to hearing “Jesusito de mi Vida” before falling asleep. When her mom couldn’t be there to sing it to her, she would call her before going to bed.
Cultural Context:
This lullaby originated from Asturias Spain where I.G.’s grandparents lived. Her grandparents sang her the lullaby as a child. It is a catholic lullaby so growing up I.G. and her brother felt connected to that aspect of their family as well.
Item:
Jesusito de mi vida,
eres niño como yo,
por eso te quiero tanto
y te doy mi corazón.
¡Tómalo! Tuyo es, y mío no.
Audio:
Informant Comments:
This lullaby helped me stay connected to my family that does not currently live in the US since we all would hear it before bed.
Collector Comments:
I found this lullaby and interview very eye opening as I do not have any family that lives outside the US. It was incredibly interesting to see how such a simple, small thing such as a lullaby can have huge impacts on families.
Collectors Name: Lucy Murray