Las Mañanitas is a traditional Mexican song that is sung on birthdays and other important holidays. It is often sung as an early morning serenade to wake up a loved one. At birthday parties it is sung before the cake is cut.
Las Mañanitas Lyrics:
Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,
Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti,
Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,
Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.
Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,
Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte,
Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,
Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.
Translation:
This is the morning song that King David sang
Because today is your saint’s day we’re singing it for you
Wake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawn
The birds are already singing and the moon has set
How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you
We all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate you
The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light
Get up in the morning, look it is already dawn.
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my family here in oaxaca sung me this song on the night of july 2, when we had a birthday party for myself and linda, the other exchange student here from madison whose birthday was last week. it was so much fun! i had never heard this song before, and in the chaos of them all singing all i picked out was something about birds and saints singing for me, which sounded pretty nice. they made a cake and we had candles, birthday hugs (here if anyone finds out it’s your birthday, the hug is obligatory – even the lady i was meeting for the first time at salsa class hugged me!), music, and they even gave me a skirt for a gift. it was really sweet that they did all that and we had a lot of fun.
i could not believe that my cards from the US arrived in such a timely fashion! i got a card from grandma on my exact birthday, which was amazing, and then more from my cousin heidi and mom the next day. my birthday present to myself was checking my voicemail which is probably going to show up on the bill as costing like $7, but i got a sweet message from jay and also a WONDERFUL accordion rendition of the mexican birthday song by mrs. werning (was it the las mañanitas i mentioned above, mrs. w?). also thank you to betsy and dad who gave me envelopes to open here… i missed you all and it was fun to have that.
so the actual day of my birthday was crazy. of course there was class and volunteer work, after which i went home and showered and the girls in my program all went out together. i chose this little coffee shop that i found the day before for dinner because it had great vegetarian sandwiches. i think the girls thought i was a little weird for choosing a dirty coffee shop (milwaukeeans: think ‘fuel’ in spanish) with no alcohol for my 21st birthday dinner, but i loved it. after that, we went to a salsa bar called candela, and it was a BLAST. i have been going to salsa mia on my own, which is a little dance studio downtown here, at 5pm for salsa lessons which cost $2.50 each and they always have enough talented men. it has been so enlivening! so, when we got to candela, the first man who asked me to dance turns out to be the bar’s resident instructor. having a professional lead and having already gotten used to the basics in class, i was flying across the floor! it was amazing. everyone there was a very good and classy dancer, and i could never say no to a dance, no matter how tired i was. i fell in love with this culture’s way of interacting. i don’t have experience at bars in the US, but i have a pretty strong impression that indicates that not much else happens other than drinking and making conversation, which could sometimes be meaningful, but usually not. now those bars are prevalent here too, but with something like salsa, culture and art is introduced to the social arena. in order for a man to approach a woman, he has to already have put in work to build his skill on the dance floor to be a strong leader. and if someone asks you to dance, it might mean that you caught their eye, but it’s really more about the dancing – you dance for a couple of songs, and then part. it is not about picking up women. very refreshing. it was exhilarating to learn the different rhythms of the salsa, salsa cubano, merengue, and bachata, and wake up that passion for dance in me again. i can’t wait to go out salsa dancing on the south side when i get home to see if i can find some places that honor this culture! josiah, you better start practicing, because it’s all about having a good lead!
pictures from the birrrrrthday:
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el pastel
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linda y yo cortando el pastel
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¡mi familia! pedro alberto, chelly, yo, paulina, francisco.
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birthday dinner with the chicas
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my first drink! *see note below.
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whatever this was, it was on fire. en fuego, baby. (sarah & me)
*note on the first drink:
LEGAL – drinking in mexico, no matter how old you are.
RECENTLY LEGAL – drinking in the united states for me.
STILL ILLEGAL – america buying from cuba, per the trade embargo thanks to our insightful administration. note the american… drinking the mojito… with cuban rum. that’s sass baby.
welp, to conclude, i had so much fun on my birthday and everyone here was so sweet to me. i can’t wait to come home and celebrate with you all, and for someone to check my ID!
much love,
kate
) … my beautiful church community at brew city… hitide.lotide preparations… the warehouse… my mac… good espresso… soy milk…
