Acela Rodriguez is a child care volunteer at the West Side Family Center and at local schools in St. Paul. She is also starting a Spanish-language youth group at her church. Much of her passion in volunteering is to share with Chicano children in Minnesota the myriad children’s songs she remembers from her childhood in Mexico. She hopes the values and culture the songs embody are not forgotten amid the wealth and commercialism of the United States. These songs mean so much to her, and she sees them as a valuable teaching tool. Many mothers and nannies asked Acela for a written form of these songs, so Kristin Irving and Jane Ramseyer Miller, researchers for this web site, assisted Acela in creating a song booklet and music CD called Acela's Songbook.

Acela's Story

Born near Jalisco, Mexico, Acela was the ninth of ten children. She grew up on a ranch and began taking care of the animals and making tortillas at a young age. Acela’s family was poor and going to school was a large sacrifice, with teachers traveling an hour and a half by horse to get to the village schools. Consequently, Acela was able to go to school only through half of third grade. During her childhood, Acela learned many songs and stories with moral lessons from her teachers and mother. Through them, she learned principles of integrity and respect at an early age and “teacher” is still a word that carries great weight for her. When she was fifteen, Acela left home and lived in Guadalajara, working for a wealthy family. In 1986 she came to San Bernardino, California and studied at a non-profit organization to earn a license in child care. She was a member of the first class to graduate from their Spanish-language program. Acela came to Minnesota in 2001 and she is already very involved as a volunteer in the schools, her church, and the West Side Family Center.

Acela's Songs

El Arrullo (The Lullaby)
There is a space in this lullaby where the name of a child can be inserted to personalize it. Acela says children clamor for their turn to have this lullaby sung to them.

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MP 3 Download (889 KB)

The lyrics:

El Arrullo niño, el arrullulla duérmase mu niño, duérmase me ya. (porque viene el coco y te comerá)	English translation: Lullaby little child, a lullaby Go to sleep my little one, fall quickly asleep. (alternate line: Because the Bogeyman is coming and he will eat you.)
Su mamá la zorra su papá el tacuache duérmase mi niño que está en tambache.	Your mother the fox, your father the tacuache Go to sleep my child, resting in a tambache.

Don Elefante
This is sort of a nonsense song that Acela sings with accompanying hand motions. She quizzes the children after singing the song on what the various characters ate.

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MP 3 Download (525 KB)

The lyrics: Don Elefante comió espinacas Don Elefante comió espinacas desde la hamaca.	English translation: Mr. Elephant ate spinach, Mr. Elephant ate spinach, from a hanging hammock.
Doña Elefante comió ensalada Doña Elefante comió ensalada con una cuchara.	Mrs. Elephant ate salad, Mrs. Elephant ate salad, with a spoon.
El Elefantito comió elotes El Elefantito comió elotes se hizo un bigote.	The little elephant ate corn cobs, The little elephant ate corn cobs, The cream left a mustache on his face.

La Chivita
This song, which Acela learned from a book in California, is one of the children’s favorites. It tells the story of a stubborn little goat who refuses to leave and all the other creatures that refuse to help until God is called to help. This is an excerpt from the end of the song and displays how fast and long the song gets.

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MP 3 Download (1.31 MB)

The lyrics: (of the excerpt)

Spanish:	English translation:
Refrain: Sal de ahí, chivita, chivita Sal de ahí, de ese lugar.	Refrain: Get out of there, little goat, little goat Get out of there, from that place.
Vamos a llamarle al diablo para que se lleve el hombre. (2x)	We're going to call the devil to take the man away. (2x)
El diablo no quiere llevarse el hombre el hombre no quiere llevarse el burro el burro no...(repeats earlier verses)	The devil doesn't want to bring the man The man doesn't want to bring the donkey... the donkey ... (repeats earlier verses)
Refrain	Refrain
Vamos a llamarle al Dios para que se lleve el diablo. (2x)	We're going to call the devil to take the man away, (2x)
Dios ya se quisó llevarse al diablo el diablo se quisó llevarse al hombre el hombre se quisó llevarse al burro el burro se quisó tomarse el agua el agua se quisó apagarle el fuego el fuego se quisó quemarse el palo el palo se quisó pegarle al lobo el lobo se quisó sacar a la chiva	God took away the devil The devil took away the man The man took away the donkey the donkey drank the water the water put out the fire the fire burned the stick the stick hit the wolf the wolf got rid of the little goat.
Ya salió la chiva, chivita Ya salió de ese lugar.	The goat already left. The goat already left that place.