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Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrating with Music--Celia Cruz and Musical Crafts & Giveaway!!


As Hispanic Heritage Month continues on, we are sharing what we have been doing to learn more about Hispanic Music. A few years ago we made maracas, guiro, and a cajita based on Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou's tutorials. We also made zampoñas and a rainstick previously (thanks to Daria). This year we got a free copy of Daria's latest e-book: 10 Musical Crafts to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage. You can get a free copy this month on her Monthly Song Page (and scroll down to enter a great giveaway). After this month you can purchase a copy on Teachers Pay Teachers.



Since we had made several of the instruments in the past, I decided we would start with the chapchas. First I gave Hazel the chapchas coloring page that was included in the book. She colored while I gathered the materials to make our own chapchas like instruments. Once she saw the supplies, she stopped coloring and wanted to start crafting!
Hazel LOVED making these. In fact I think she has made about ten of them already. They are fun and use supplies around the house (really anything that makes a noise when banged together).
She made one for each of us. On Friday night our house was jingling everywhere.
When she woke up Saturday morning she started making more. She was going to make some for the people we visited this weekend, but she couldn't part with any of them. Here she shows you how one of them sounds.


She really got into the music and loved dancing with the bracelets on.


Celia Cruz 1
Celia Cruz, The Queen of Salsa Source: By Lionel Decoster (Own work)
[GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

We also explored Celia Cruz. Like Juan Quezada, I did not know anything about Celia Cruz. We happened to find some books at the library on her when I searched for Hispanic. We found two picture books. With a bit of further searching in the library network I even found one of them on CD so we could hear some salsa music.



My Name Is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz by Monica Brown is a bilingual book that shares the life of Celia Cruz from her childhood in Cuba and her move to America. It is a wonderful introduction for children to a woman who changed the music world. Celia is known as the the Queen of Salsa throughout the world.

Celia Cruz, Queen of Salsa by Veronica Chambers also gives the details of Celia's life. I think one of my favorite parts of the book is actually in the Author's Notes about when she actually met Celia Cruz for an interview. Veronica had always seen Celia Cruz as her role model and she was awestruck by meeting her.

Celia was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. She lived in a two bedroom house with her extended family. At times there were 14 children living in her house. She always helped with putting the younger children to bed and she would sing them lullabies. People would gather outside the open windows to listen to her singing. She began to sing more at school and her teachers encouraged her to pursue a career in singing, however her father wanted her to do something like teaching. At one point the most popular band in Cuba needed a new lead singer and they hired her after her tryout. Although their fans were upset to get a nobody as lead singer, they soon fell in love with her voice.  They also called the band Cafe con Leche, coffee and milk because Celia's skin was so dark and her bandmates were  very fair. She left her beloved Cuba and moved to the United States. She was heartbroken that she would not be able to return to Cuba because of the politics at the time. In America she met Pedro Knight and they fell in love. She brought salsa music to the entire planet. Her trademark was a shout of "Azucar," which means sugar. Many say that is the only way to describe her voice. Celia Cruz showed that with a dream and strength even a poor Cuban girl could succeed. She changed the world of music and made a place in history for herself. She has hundreds of albums and here is a collection of some.
Hazel and I have  been loving listening to the upbeat salsa music! We are adding this to the Multicultural Kid Blog's Hispanic Heritage Blog Hop and I am including the blog hop and giveaway information again since both are continuing through the month!


heritagemonthWelcome to the Third Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop, hosted this year by Multicultural Kid Blogs and 22 of our member blogs! Don't miss our amazing giveaway, and share your own posts at our linky! Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 every year, "celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America" (from HispanicHeritageMonth.gov) Be sure to visit all of the participating blogs (listed below) and follow our related Pinterest boards:
MKB HHM Twitter Party 
Don't miss our Twitter party "Celebrating Hispanic Heritage with Kids," Tuesday, September 23, from 9 - 10 pm ET! Follow #mkbhhm to participate!
MKB Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop: Participating Blogs

Hispanic Heritage Month GIVEAWAY!

This year to celebrate we are giving away fabulous prizes! Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post for a chance to win! Please note that there are shipping restrictions on some prizes. In the event that the winner lives outside of the shipping area, that portion of the prize will be added to the following prize package.

Grand Prize Package

Smart Play Pad (SRP $ 24.99): Interactive tablet like electronic toy makes early learning fun and exciting for little ones. More than 30 touch sensitive keys teach language and pronunciation skills to help prepare children for school. Bilingual feature helps kids learn in English & Spanish. Lightweight and truly portable for on-the-go learning. Ships to US and Canada only.
Traditional Mexican toys and games.
A basket of fun from Escuela Falcón in Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico. This prize includes educational games, ceramic Day of the Dead skulls, a hand-painted ceramic box, wooden toys, and a certificate for 5 hours of Skype Spanish lessons with Escuela Falcón.
Lanugo 
A basket from Lanugo that includes Lanugo’s new book, “Lula la Consentida,” a limited edition “Latino de Corazón” infant apparel, and Seventh Generation’s earth conscious baby product essentials. US shipping only.
Spanish games for kids.
A Spanish edition of the award-winning game Bananagrams.
DVD of Spanish music videos from Rockalingua.
DVD of Spanish music videos from Rockalingua.
Bilingual poetry book from Lee and Low.
Spanish poetry book for kids from Lee and Low.
A Movie in my Pillow and Poems to Dream Together - Books of poetry in English and Spanish from Lee and Low.

First Prize Package

Peru prize basket - Kid World Citizen 
A child's sweater and bag from Peru courtesy of Kid World Citizen. The handmade, wool sweater is typical from the Andes and might fit a child ages 2-4. The little backpack is also handmade with gorgeous details typical of the region.
Spanish games for kids.  
A Spanish edition of the award-winning game Bananagrams.
Spanish songs for kids.
Chocolalala - CD of songs in English and Spanish from Mister G.
Spanish songs for kids from Mariana Iranzi. 
Hola Hello - A CD of children's songs in English and Spanish from Mariana Iranzi.
Spanish poems for kids.
Mis primeros poemas - A book of poems and audio CD for Spanish learners from All Bilingual Press.
Spanish color activities from Mundo de Pepita.
Digital download of Spanish Colors Activities Pack with printable minibooks, games and activity pages from Mundo de Pepita.
Lingua Toys 
Spanish activity book with an audio CD with listening exercises for kids between 3-10 years old (value: 12€) from Lingua Toys.
Bolivian Guiro 
Hand-crafted guiro (traditional instrument), hand-carved from a gourd in Bolivia with a sun and moon pattern. Great instrument as well as a piece of folk art. From DARIAMUSIC. US shipping only.

Second Prize Package

Handwoven scarf from Nicaragua.
Handwoven scarf from Nicaragua courtesy of Spanish Playground.
Spanish ABC book from Libros Arellano.
Spanish book for kids from Libros Arellano.
¡Las letras! and Señorita Bienvenida en el aeropuerto - Two children's books in Spanish from Libros Arellano.
Spanish songs for kids from Mariana Iranzi.
A CD of children's songs in English and Spanish from Mariana Iranzi.
Children's songs in Spanish from Mister G.
ABC Fiesta - CD of songs in English and Spanish from Mister G.
High frequency words books in Spanish.
Digital download of 6 printable Spanish high frequency words books from Custom Literacy.
Guatemala purse - Alarcon Restaurants 
Hand woven and leather Guatemala coin purse, a fun and vibrant gift. Given by www.AlarconRestaurants.com - from their Gift Gallery in Antigua Real Restaurant, Mukwonago WI.
Bonus Prize: France Shipping Only!
Las piñatas de Laly 
Beautiful piñata created especially for this contest by Piñatas de Laly.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Link Up Your Posts Now it's your turn to share your posts! The linky will be open through October 15, so come back and share throughout Hispanic Heritage Month!