"De colores" came to the Americas from central Spain in the sixteenth century and is now sung all over the Spanish-speaking world on special occasions and celebrations. It is also the anthem of the United Farmworkers of America, a union founded by Cesar Chavez, most of whose members are Spanish-speaking. People hold hands and sway while singing this beautiful song. It may be found in <cite>De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children</cite> by Jose-Luis Orozco.
De colores, | Painted in colors, |
de colores se visten los campos | the fields are dressed in colors |
en la primavera. | in the spring. |
De colores, | Painted in colors, |
de colores son los pajaritos | painted in colors are the little birds |
que vienen de afuera. | which come from the outside. |
De colores, | Painted with colors, |
de colores es el arcoiris que | painted with colors is the rainbow that |
vemos lucir. | we see shining brilliantly above. |
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Coro: | Chorus: |
Y por eso los grandes amores | And that is why great loves |
de muchos colores | of many colors |
me gustan a mi. | are what I like. |
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Canta el gallo | The rooster sings |
canta el gallo con el kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri. | the rooster sings with a kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri. |
La gallina. | The hen |
la gallina con el cara, cara, cara, cara, | The hen sings with a cara, cara, cara, cara, |
Los pollitos, | The little chicks |
los pollitos con el pio, pio, pio, pio, pi. | The little chicks with a pio, pio, pio, pio, pi. |
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Comments: 12
Depression in the News
Aesop for Today
It is also sung by the UFW. It was an awesome sight to see thousands of people marching through the streets of Delano at Cesar's funeral in 1993, singing De Colores. I still get goose bumps when I think of it.