De Colores

This simple and unpretentious folk song goes back several hundred years. The tune is reminiscent of Spanish folk songs of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, though it is unknown exactly when it crossed the Atlantic. By the twentieth century, it as one of the most well–known Mexican folk songs around the world. Perhaps most famously in the US, it became the unofficial anthem of the United Farm Workers movement in the 1950s and '60s, particularly during César Chávez's leadership. The text appears easy enough for a child to learn, yet in truth it is an appreciation of the beauty of the earth and the simple things in life that unite us all as one humanity. This arrangement was commissioned by Joshua Habermann and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in the spring of 2012 for the celebration of the Centenary of Statehood of New Mexico.

A translation is found on the first page of the sample PDF file.

Click here to see a sample.

Click here to listen to a recording (MP3).