Recess! Media

It’s carnival time on the islands of the Caribbean, and after all the parades and the feasting and the dancing, it’s time for lullabies, those cante hundos or soul songs that adults sing to children, and other loved ones. You and your children can go to some of these places on a new CD called Tropical Lullaby,the latest in the series of beautiful collections of cradle songs from around the world produced by Celestial Arts. You can start by visiting Thierry Remion on Martinique who sings about a bright star, a lucky charm shining above the clouds:

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There are lullabies from Haiti and the Bahamas, Trinadad and Gaudeloupe — and from tropical islands on the other side of the world — Tahiti and Hawaii. A song from Columbia by Juliana Barrios, tells about a misunderstood boogieman, El Coco, who only wants to make friends:

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In Puerto Rico, the virtuoso percussionist, Sammy Figueroa, treats you to the gentle rhythms of a hangpan, a form of the steel drum that carries a child away to the land of dreams with the lightest of touches:

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And everywhere, everywhere, moon light is shimmering on the water, breezes are riffling the palms, and sound of singing, like that of the group, Brazilian Voices, from Miami, gently rocks the night to sleep:

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