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Quien es esa gente is probably my second graders’ all time favorite songs– they are obsessed! It comes with a fun singing game (ok, I made up the game, but you can steal it!), it teaches la or quarter rest, and it’s in Spanish. That makes it perfect for Hispanic Heritage Month, but we use it all year long.
This is a Mexican folk song that talks about how people are being too loud for you to sleep.
If you want to make this lesson super easy, grab the lesson pack in my TPT shop for this song. It includes Google Slides to teach the song, they lyrics, the translation, the game, la, and quarter rest. It’s not necessary, but it makes your life so much easier when you have all of the slides and directions ready to go– especially when teaching a new concept!
Quien es esa gente Hispanic folk song Sol and Mi
Click here to download the sheet music for free.
Translation:
- Who are all these people walking over here?
- They are making so much noise that I cannot sleep.
The singing game
This didn’t come with a game, but I did make one up:
- One person comes to the front and is the “sleeper”
- Everyone walks around the room while singing the song.
- At the end, the sleeper wakes up and looks for someone moving. If you’re moving, then you become a sleeper too! (Note: I have them pick just one person each round.)
You could also do it as a guessing game– have one person tap the sleeper and have the sleeper guess who it was. You could even do this heads up seven up style!
More Activities for Quien es esa gente
So you’ve done the song and the game… Now what?
Of course, you can use it to learn sol and mi or quarter rest. Both of those presentations are included in the Google Slides lesson pack on TPT.
But there’s also a bunch of other fun activities to practice the song AND celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in the music room.
Learn about Mexico
Of course, you’ll need to teach the kids about Mexico! I always include a few Spanish words and pictures of the countries we’re “visiting” for the day.
My kids have been loving these songs about countries. The Ireland one is our favorite, but here is the Mexico song.
Read a book
Since this song is about it being too loud for sleep, you can incorporate The Napping House, Mortimer, or Too Much Noise! These can all be used to talk about forte and piano as well.
Click below to check out out.
Pair with Agua de limones
Learn another Hispanic song that also has a rest in it!
Agua de Limones is a huge hit with my kiddos– and one of my favorite folk songs for rest! This one is perfect for the beginning of the year, because it involves students getting to know each other.
Singing game for la:
- Students walk around the room while they sing.
- At the end of the song, the person who is it calls out a category (Birth month, favorite color, number of siblings, etc)
- After the category is called out, students get into groups based on the category.
- If someone is left out, they are the new caller.
Note: I find it easier if I am the caller the first time.
I love this game for the beginning of the year because students:
- Can learn where the boundaries are for moving around the room (where to go, not touching anything, etc)
- Have to talk to each other! In order to find out someone’s favorite color, they have to ask. This allows them to get to know each other better.
You can purchase the lesson pack on TPT here.
Learn a dance
Although The Mexican Hat dance is one of the most popular folk dances from Mexico, my personal favorite is los machetes.
This is designed to be danced with machetes– obviously we aren’t going to do that, but we CAN use rhythm sticks. Students will need one in each hand. (We have also done it while teaching music via Zoom, and used pencils.)
The form is ABCABCA’
- A: Walk in a circle (or in place) tapping sticks together to the beat. Turn and go the other direction after 16 beats.
- B: Tap your sticks. They go: up, under one leg, up, under the other leg, front, back, front 3 times. (You can watch the video below to see it!)
- C: Wave one stick in the air for 8 beats, then the other one.
Dances are always easier to see, so here is a video of it. Fun fact, this is one of my college professors that I randomly came across while looking for this dance. Small world!
Ready to try Quien es esa gente with your first and second graders?
Need more Hispanic Folk songs? Click here for some of my favorites!
Happy teaching!
