Recess! Media

Brief sound clip

That’s the incomparable Mexican singer Lila Downs and friends with the chorus from a Mayan nonsense song, “Hanal Weech” (hah-nal weech) about a romance that won’t work because one of the couple thinks the other smells like an armadillo. The snow is gone, and it’s time to be with your friends and family, young and old, to dance, to sing, to have a party to celebrate the spring. And one of the CDs you’ll want to have handy is Putumayo’s Latin Playground — a fiesta of upbeat Latin American music for children and families. ” There are almost a dozen terrific tracks of this recording, like this one from Ruben Rada (roo-BEN rah-dah) from Uruquay with a candombi called Yo Quiero, about the every child’s need for caring people and lots of joy in their lives:,

Brief sound clip

And then there’s Nazari Pereira (nah-za-RAY pear-RAY-rah) from Brazil with “Rodopiou” (roh-doh-PYOH) about a girl who twirls so beautifully when she dances that “flowers fell on the dance floor”:

Brief sound clip

And no party would be complete without a cumbia from Columbia — here’s Los 50 de Joselito (loce seen-KWEEN-tah day hoh-say-LEE-toh) with a song about a spider

Brief sound clip