Nursery rhymes are short, repetitive stories, and songs that are taught orally. These different melodies teach children about socialization in a fun way. Nursery rhymes represent the culture of the country a child is being raised in. British nursery rhymes are based on events like, London Bridge is Falling Down. The history of the Spanish nursery rhyme dates back to 1521 when the Spanish Conquest had come to an end.
Latin America
Spanish nursery rhymes are centered around the farm and rural lifestyle. One example of a Spanish nursery rhyme centered around farm life is Los Pollitos, or The Little Chickens, about how little ones depend on the mother for food and nurturing.
Animal Nursery Rhymes
Some of the nursery rhymes American children learn that are originally British or American have been translated into Spanish. One of these nursery rhymes, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, has been translated to, The Itsy Bitsy Araña. The nursery rhyme, whether in Spanish or English, is performed with finger movements that teach children how to sing and perform movements at the same time. Itsy Bitsy Spider was written in 1910 in California and was quickly translated into Spanish. The Itsy Bitsy Araña has several variations that when translated back into English would not quite sound like the song many of us grew up with. Cinco Monitos, or Five Monkeys, teaches children about numbers and rhyming words. The song starts out with cinco monitos jumping on the bed; uno falls off and then there are cuatro monitos. The song continues until the last monito falls off the bed. This entertaining song about five monkeys was written in 2007 by Erika Ender and Amerika Jiméne and it was interpreted into Spanish by Gloria Trevi, who is a popular Mexican singer.
Nursery Rhymes About Objects
Rema Rema Rema Tu Bote is translated to Row Row Your Boat, a song that was written by Eliphalet Oram Lyte in 1881 New York. The song was soon translated to Spanish. The history of Rema Rema Tu Bote has a possible African American beginning. Las Ruedas de este Bus means The Wheels on the Bus and originates as American folklore written by Verna Hills in 1939. The song was meant to be sung by young children on bus trips in order to teach youngsters about the bus and what protocol goes on in bus travel. Not only have American and British nursery rhymes been translated into English, but many Spanish nursery rhymes have been translated into English. Some Hispanic nursery rhymes have been left in their original tongue.
Beloved Spanish Songs
There are many songs in Spanish that have been enjoyed by American youngsters without bothering to translate into English. La Cucaracha is a beloved Spanish song that dates back to the Mexican Revolution. La Familia Dedos is another fun one. Whether nursery rhyme songs are originally in Spanish or are translated into Spanish from the English language, it is positive to expose children to nursery rhymes in many languages.