Title: ¡Que Llueva, Que Llueva!

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal folklore: Nursery rhyme

• Language: Spanish

• Country where Item is from: Colombia

Informant Data:

Martha Galvis was born in Bogotá, Colombia on December 14, 1963. She was born to two Colombian parents and grew up in Colombia. She lived in Colombia until 1993 when she began working on cruise ships and then moved to Maryland, USA, where she currently resides, in 1994.

Contextual Data:

Martha grew up in Colombia to Colombian parents, so she was completely immersed in the Colombian culture. Spanish was her first language. When she was a child, her parents sang her multiple nursery rhymes that were common in Colombia. One of these nursery rhymes is “¡Que Llueva, Que Llueva!”. Rhymes like this one are usually sung to young children as a way to help them start to learn and understand the Spanish language. It is one of the most well-known nursery rhymes in Colombia and many other Spanish speaking countries.

Item:
Que llueva, que llueva
La Virgen de la Cueva
Que llueva, que llueva
La Virgen de la Cueva
Los pajaritos cantan,
La luna se levanta.
¡Que sí, que no,
que caiga un chaparrón!
¡Que sí, que no,
le canta el labrador!

Translation

Let it rain, let it rain,
Virgin Mary of the Cave,                                                                                                                               Let it rain, let it rain                                                                                                                                   The little birds are singing,
The moon rises up.                                                                                                                                     Oh yes, oh no,
let there be a downpour!                                                                                                                             Oh yes, oh no,
sings the labrador!

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Que llueva, que llueva
La Virgen de la Cueva
Que llueva, que llueva
La Virgen de la Cueva
Los pajaritos cantan,
La luna se levanta.
¡Que sí, que no,
que caiga un chaparrón!
¡Que sí, que no,
le canta el labrador!

Informant’s Comments:

Martha noted that this Spanish nursery rhyme really tries to make rainfall happy for children and to embrace it. It ties in with the larger Spanish theme of nature that is commonly seen in Spanish songs.

Collector’s Comments:

I found that the happy nature that this nursury rhyme attributes to rain is an effort to make children less afraid of rain. In many Latin American countries there are intense storms and hurricanes that can invoke fear, so rain is often associated with them. This rhyme makes rain less of something that should be feared and something that should be embraced and thankful for.

Collector’s Name: Chris Quintero

Tags/Keywords:

• Nursery rhyme, Spanish folklore, Colombia, Colombian

Title: Los Pollitos Dicen

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal folklore: Nursery rhyme

• Language: Spanish

• Country where Item is from: Colombia

Informant Data:

Martha Galvis was born in Bogotá, Colombia on December 14, 1963. She was born to two Colombian parents and grew up in Colombia. She lived in Colombia until 1993 when she began working on cruise ships and then moved to Maryland, USA, where she currently resides, in 1994.

Contextual Data:

Martha grew up in Colombia to Colombian parents, so she was completely immersed in the Colombian culture. Spanish was her first language. When she was a child, her parents sang her multiple nursery rhymes that were common in Colombia. One of these nursery rhymes is Los Pollitos Dicen. Rhymes like this one are usually sung to young children as a way to help them start to learn and understand the Spanish language. It is one of the most well-known nursery rhymes in Colombia and many other Spanish speaking countries. There are different versions of this rhyme, but the one I have collected is the one most commonly heard in Colombia. They can have different lyrics and rhythms.

Item:

Los Pollitos dicen: Pío, pío, pío
Cuando tienen hambre
Cuando tienen frío
La gallina busca
El maíz y el trigo
Les da la comida
Y les presta abrigo
Bajo sus dos alas
Acurrucaditos
Duermen los pollitos
Hasta el otro día                                                                                                                                 Cuando se levantan
Dicen, “Mamacita,”
Tenemos mucha hambre
Da nos lombricitas

Translation

The little chicks say: cheep, cheep, cheep
When they are hungry
When they are cold
The hen forages for
corn and wheat
She gives them food
And she lends them a coat
Under her two wings                                                                                                                       Snuggled nice and tight
The little chicks sleep
Until the next day                                                                                                                                  When they wake up
They say, “Mommy,”                                                                                                                                   We are very hungry
Give us some worms.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Los Pollitos dicen: Pío, pío, pío
Cuando tienen hambre
Cuando tienen frío
La gallina busca
El maíz y el trigo
Les da la comida
Y les presta abrigo
Bajo sus dos alas
Acurrucaditos
Duermen los pollitos
Hasta el otro día                                                                                                                                 Cuando se levantan
Dicen, “Mamacita,”
Tenemos mucha hambre
Da nos lombricitas

Informant’s Comments:

Martha emphasizes that Los Pollitos Dicen is a great nursery rhyme to help teach young children the Spanish language because it has a happy rhythm that makes children dance and the repetition in the rhyme helps engrain the words in the minds of children. She also notes that a lot of Spanish folklore have themes and motifs relating to nature and animals and Los Pollitos Dicen is an example of that. She also mentions that many Spanish nursery rhymes are used to make children feel loved, not feel alone, and to feel happy.

Collector’s Comments:

Although Los Pollitos Dicen is mostly a nursey rhyme used to help young children learn the Spanish language, I believe there is some meaning to it. The rhyme’s emphasis on a mother hen providing for her children really exemplifies the importance of family and helping provide for one’s family. This rhyme is a clear reflection of the family-oriented culture that is commonly seen in Colombian and Hispanic culture.

Collector’s Name: Chris Quintero

Tags/Keywords:

• Nursery rhyme, Spanish folklore, Colombia, Colombian

Title: Yermis

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Customary folklore: Childhood folklore game

• Language: Spanish

• Country where Item is from: Colombia

Informant Data:

Carlos Quintero was born in Cali, Colombia on February 18, 1968. He was born to two Colombian parents and grew up in Colombia. He lived in Colombia until 1993 when he began working on cruise ships and then moved to Maryland, USA, where he currently resides, in 1994.

Contextual Data:

Carlos grew up in Colombia to Colombian parents, so he was completely immersed in the Colombian culture. As a young boy, Carlos would spend a lot of his time outside playing with other children. One of the most common games played in Colombia by children is Yermis. It is a really unique game to Colombia. Carlos played Yermis mutiple times as a child and continues to see children playing it in Colombia today.

Item:

Yermis is a game where there are 2 teams with about 5 to 10 people each. One team is the attacking team and the other is the defending team. The attacking team has to roll a ball towards a stack of bottle caps. Once the bottle caps are knocked down, the defending team has to try to build the stack back up and the attacking team has to prevent them from doing that by hitting members of the defending team with the ball. Once a defender is hit with the ball, they are out and can no longer play. The game ends when either the attacking team hits all of the members of the defending team or the defending team is able to build the stack of bottle caps back up. If the defending team succeeds, they yell “¡Yermis!” to symbolize that they have won.

Informant’s Comments:

Carlos notes that Yermis was mostly played in parks or on the streets and that it was mostly played by children from the lower classes. He also mentioned that when he goes back to Colombia he no longer sees as many children playing Yermis as when he was a child. He credits this to the advances in technology and how children are more attracted to video/computer games. He finds it to be a shame because Yermis is a real community and family game that brings a lot of people together and now that is not really happening anymore.

Collector’s Comments:

I noticed that the simplicity of Yermis really facilitates it to be a game common to the street and to the lower classes. Bottle caps can be found pretty much anymore as well as a single ball. These are easily accessible items to everyone and allows for Yermis to played by anyone, regardless of class.

Collector’s Name: Chris Quintero

Tags/Keywords:

• Game, Colombian folklore, Colombia, Colombian

Title: Spanish New Year’s Grape Tradition

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Customary folklore: Childhood holiday folklore

• Language: Spanish

• Country where Item is from: Colombia

Informant Data:

Stephanie Quintero was born in Takoma Park, Maryland on March 24, 1998.  She is 18 years old and has an older brother. She graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland and is currently a freshman at Dartmouth College.

Contextual Data:

Stephanie was born to two Colombian parents who immigrated to the U.S. She gained a lot of exposure to Colombian culture through her parents, who taught her Spanish from an early age. She also learned many of the traditions and customs of Colombian culture. One of these is the Spanish New Year’s Grape Tradition. Her parents taught her this tradition from an early age and she actively participated in it while she was a child.

Item:

There is a classic Spanish tradition of eating grapes as soon as it becomes the new year. 12 grapes, representing each month in the year, would be eaten and after each one is eaten there would need to be a wish made otherwise you would have bad luck.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Stephanie: In Colombia there is this tradition on New Year’s that the children eat 12 grapes and for each grape it’s one wish and if they don’t make one wish for each grape then it will be bad luck for them.

Chris: Who usually does this tradition?

Stephanie: It is usually all over Latin America, but in Colombia specifically it is just for children.

Informant’s Comments:

Stephanie noted that she participated in this tradition consistently when she was a child, but realized that as she got older she found herself not always doing it. She is not sure why that happened. However, she thinks that it is because as she grew up she realized that wishes do not always come true and found that the tradition no longer really served a purpose.

Collector’s Comments:

Stephanie’s experience is not entirely unique. Many children across Colombia grow up and end up no longer participating in the tradition. The tradition is largely seen as childish and many adults are ridiculed if they particiapte.

Collector’s Name: Chris Quintero

Tags/Keywords:

• Tradition, Superstition, Spanish folklore, Colombia, Colombian

Title: Duérmete Mi Niño

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Verbal folklore: Lullaby

• Language: Spanish

• Country where Item is from: Colombia

Informant Data:

Martha Galvis was born in Bogotá, Colombia on December 14, 1963. She was born to two Colombian parents and grew up in Colombia. She lived in Colombia until 1993 when she began working on cruise ships and then moved to Maryland, USA, where she currently resides, in 1994.

Contextual Data:

Martha grew up in Colombia to Colombian parents, so she was completely immersed in the Colombian culture. Spanish was her first language. When she was a child, her parents sang her multiple lullabies common in Colombia. One of these lullabies is Duérmete Mi Niño. Lullabies like this one are usually sung to young children as a way to help them fall asleep. It is one of the most well-known lullabies in Colombia and many other Spanish speaking countries.

Item:

Duérmete mi niño, que tengo que hacer
Lavar los pañales, y hacer de comer                                                                                             Duérmete mi niño, duérmete solito
Que cuando te despiertes, te daré un dulcito.                                                                           Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi sol
duérmete pedazo, de mi corazón.

Translation

Go to sleep my son, because I have to                                                                                               Wash the diapers, and cook the food                                                                                                       Go to sleep my son, go to sleep alone                                                                                           Because when you wake up, I will give you a treat.                                                                                 Go to sleep my son, go to sleep my sun                                                                                                   Go to sleep, piece of my heart.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Duérmete mi niño, que tengo que hacer
Lavar los pañales, y hacer de comer                                                                                             Duérmete mi niño, duérmete solito
Que cuando te despiertes, te daré un dulcito.                                                                           Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi sol
duérmete pedazo, de mi corazón.

Informant’s Comments:

Martha highlighted the fact that this song is used to put babies to sleep at night. It is also meant to put to babies to sleep for a nap so the mother can return to domestic tasks. She noted that this probably the most commonly used lullaby in Colombia because of its soothing nature and direct ties to sleep.

Collector’s Comments:

This is definitely one the lullabies that I remember the most from my childhood. It is very soothing and easy to remember. The fact that this lullaby and many others are usually only song by mothers is really evident of Hispanic culture, where women were commonly the ones who stayed at home and took care of the baby.

Collector’s Name: Chris Quintero

Tags/Keywords:

• Lullaby, Spanish folklore, Spanish, Colombia, Colombian