It’s early morning in La Paz, quiet enough to hear faint sounds. A hummingbird hovers at the
feeder, its call a jumble of high squeaks. From somewhere in the kitchen, a gecko chirps. And then there are the roosters. They started crowing long before dawn and now they’re in full-throttle: “Erk-erk-EEERRRKKK-erk.” Every time I hear a rooster, I think he's calling out, "Happy BIRTHday! Erk-erk-EEERRRKKK-erk!” One day, he’ll get it right.The traditional song for birthdays and other important holidays in Mexico is Las Mañanitas. It’s sometimes sung as an early morning serenade. You will hear it at birthday parties, before the cake is cut, and at celebrations of a person’s Saint’s Day. There are many versions of Las Mañanitas. Here is one set of lyrics and an English translation. Farther down the page, you’ll find links to three very different YouTube performances of Las Mañanitas.
If this is your special day, we wish you ¡Felíz cumpleaños! Happy birthday! or, as they say in my neighbourhood of La Paz, “Erk-erk-EEERRRKKK-erk!”
Las Mañanitas
Estas son las mañanitas/ These are the morning songs
Que cantaba el rey David/ That King David sang
Hoy por ser día de tu santo/ Because today is your Saint’s Day
Te las cantamos así/ And so we’re singing them to you
¡Despierta, mi bien, despierta!/ Wake up, my dear, wake up!
Mira que ya amaneció/ Look, it’s already dawn
Ya los pajaritos cantan/ The birds are already singing
La luna ya se metió/ The moon has already set
¡Qué linda está la mañana/ How beautiful is the morning
En que vengo a saludarte/ In which I come to greet you
Venimos todos con gusto/ We are delighted to come
A placer a felicitarte!/ and with pleasure congratulate you!
El día en que tú naciste/ The day that you were born
Nacieron todas las flores/ All the flowers bloomed
Y En la pila del bautismo/ And at the christening font
Cantaron los ruiseñores/ The nightingales sang
Ya viene amaneciendo/ The sun has already risen
Ya la luz del día nos dio/ As the day begins anew
Levantarte de la mañana/ Wake up and greet the morning
Mira que ya amaneció/ Look, it’s already dawn
Chayito Valdez, a Mexican-born American singer and actress associated with the folk music of Mexico, recorded this version of Las Mañanitas in 1985. She’s accompanied by the mariachi band Vargas de Tecalitlán.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqOUdLDwSnE&feature=related
Topo Gigio, a mouse with dreamy eyes and childish personality, was the lead character of a children’s puppet show on Italian television in the early 1960s. After appearances on Ed Sullivan’s weekly TV show, Topo Gigio’s popularity spread around the world. He sings Las Mañanitas in Spanish, of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU0tvt7XRIE
Pedro Infante is perhaps the most famous actor and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, from the 1930s to the 1950s. He was an idol of the Mexican people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1lw_24Pyzw
MORE FEATURES:
Scroll down and click on "older posts" near the bottom of the page to read earlier features, including:
-June: Man behind the counter of the Escritorio Público
-May: The story behind the seashell musicians
-May: The story behind the seashell musicians
-April: singer-songwriter Paulo Piña
-March: Sand sculptor of La Paz
-February: the artist GABO
-Also February: Carnaval queen
-January: Old man in the paper boat
