MEXICO

Lesson 2

Teaching Artist: Juan Manuel Trujillo, Hery Paz
Two puppets presenting the flag of Mexico.

SUMMARY

This is the second lesson from the Alegría Musical Course. Students will visit Mexico with puppets Pepe and Tito to learn about the traditions of son jarocho and música norteña. Then they will perform the son jarocho and norteña rhythmic patterns as an ensemble.

OBJECTIVE

  • Summarize important information about the culture and geography of Mexico.

  • Create the traditional son jarocho and norteña rhythmic patterns.

MATERIALS

EXPLORE

  1. Distribute the Alegría Musical: Latin American Stories Travel Diary and allow students to personalize it. Tell students they will use their diary as they travel through Latin America with puppets Pepe and Tito, drawing and recording important facts about another culture. 

  2. Show students the All About Mexico video. Remind students to remember geographical and cultural elements they learn. Ask: Where is the country located on a map? What are the most important regions discussed in the video? What foods do people eat? Is there a national sport?

  3. Allow time for students to draw and write in their diary, recalling information they learned from the video. 

  4. Discuss some of the important pre-colonial indigenous civilizations in Mexico shown in the video, such as the Mayans and the Aztecs. 

  5. Explain that many of the people who live in Mexico today are descendants from these ancient civilizations, and parts of their culture and traditions live on through current indigenous populations, such as the Nahuas and Mixtecos. 

LEARN

  1. Introduce students to Música Norteña. Explain that musica norteña often tells a story about current events, love, or experiences the musicians see in the world around them. Ask students to suggest which story they would tell if they were performing musica norteña. 

  2. Using the Video Demonstration I, practice the waltz rhythm by repeating, “1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3” aloud, along with the video. Then, ask students to clap only on numbers 2 and 3. It may be helpful to try this activity using a slower tempo without the video until students build confidence. Alternatively, you can ask students to say, “oom pah pah, oom pah pah, oom pah pah” etc., then clap only on each “pah.”

  3. Using the Video Demonstration II, practice the polka rhythm by repeating, “1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4” aloud, along with the video. Then, ask students to clap only on numbers 2 and 4. Once again, you may try this using a slower tempo without the video. You can also ask students to say “oom pah oom pah, oom pah oom pah, oom pah oom pah” etc., then clap only on each “pah.”

  4. Access “La Bamba” Lyrics and ask students to repeat each word back to you, one word at a time. Once all words in a sentence have been spoken aloud with confidence, ask students to repeat the entire phrase. Repeat for each phrase until all sentences are spoken successfully. Then, using a Video of La Bamba, ask students to sing along to the music using the words they have just learned.

PERFORM+SHARE

  1.  Create a one minute video of the class singing “La Bamba” as an ensemble, or clapping and counting the waltz and/or polka rhythms. Share the video at the S’Cool Sounds Padlet.

  2. Tell students to get their diary ready for the next lesson, which is a visit to the Dominican Republic.