Song Story: La mariposa
The Music Together Curriculum Development team is always on the lookout for ways to add variety and richness to our song collections, and the upcoming Bongos collection includes a new song, our adaptation of the Bolivian folksong “La mariposa,” that does just that.
“La mariposa” (“the butterfly”) is a lively Bolivian folksong that is traditionally performed during the annual Carnival celebrations. The lyrics refer to la morenada, a folk dance from the Bolivian Andes. La morenada was declared a Cultural Heritage of Bolivia in 2011. The dance is regularly performed at the Carnaval de Oruro. Both the dance and the Oruro festival have been declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Civic festivals in honor of patron saints are frequent occurrences throughout Bolivia, and la morenada is performed at most.
Lyrics
Vengan a cantar la morenada que empieza a sonar /
Como el vuelo d’una mariposa vamos todos a bailar /
Con las manos, con los pies, la morenada, la morenada
Translation
Come sing the morenada that begins to sound /
Like the flight of the butterfly, let’s all dance /
with hands, with feet, the morenada, the morenada
How We Choose New Songs
Material for our curriculum has to serve a multitude of purposes. Our songs often don’t fit the traditional mold of “children’s music,” which is typically songs with Major scales and duple meters That’s because we know the importance of giving little ears a rich foundation of exposure to a variety of musical tonalities, meters, styles, and genres. We spoke with Deanna deCampos, Director of Curriculum Development at Music Together Worldwide, about why “La mariposa” turned out to be a perfect fit for Music Together.
How did you find out about “La mariposa”?
Deanna deCampos (DD): I found it while searching Spanish-language songs. I listen to probably hundreds of songs, in addition to reaching out to others for their recommendations. In this case, I asked about a dozen or so Spanish-speaking teachers and licensees for public domain songs they love as a place to start. It just happened that I found “La mariposa,” and it wasn’t on anyone’s list!
What makes the song a good fit for Music Together?
DD: Great question! I’d say a great Music Together song is one that has “good bones.” That means it has a catchy or intriguing melody and/or musical form, has lyrics that we can work with (many 19th and early 20th century songs do not), and has flexibility to be used in different ways in class. We ultimately want families to be able to jump in, sing along, and participate fully in the song activity. So, part of the process of finding a song is playing with it and brainstorming how it might work in the classroom. When we find a song and the curriculum team comes up with a slew of ideas for how to use it in class, then we know we have a winner! That definitely was the case with “La mariposa.”
What happens after you identify a song you think will be a good fit for the Music Together curriculum?
DD: When I find a song that’s a good candidate (due to its melody, form, style, etc.), I do some initial research into its history to see if it’s available for us to adapt into our own version. Then, I look at the lyrics to make sure they pass muster (you know, nothing that would raise an eyebrow in a children’s music class!). If the song makes it past those two steps—and many do not—I pass it on for others to listen to and weigh in. More research is done internally and by our Song Advisory Board before we confirm a song will be added to a collection. The process is long (it can take several months at minimum, and well over a year in many cases), but we hope the result gives families a broad repertoire of wonderful music to enjoy and build lasting memories.
What was the recording process for “La mariposa” like?
DD: We’re lucky to be in a region where we have access to an amazingly diverse array of incredible musicians (instrumentalists and singers, alike), so most of our recording sessions take place at our recording studio in Hopewell, NJ.
Sometimes, when we find a musician who is the right fit for the song, style, instrumentation, etc., and they’re not close or able to get to us, we make arrangements for them to record remotely. This often involves other recording studios and being on Zoom during the session. For “La mariposa”, our percussionist recorded remotely from San Francisco and our flutist recorded his parts at his home studio in NYC. Remote sessions have taken place in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Ghana, New Orleans, Italy, and Chicago in the past few years!
Watch a video clip where 2700+ Bolivian dancers gather to break the world record for the most people dancing la morenada at the same time.