{Photo by: cliff1066™}
My daughter Vanessa always wants to know what kinds of games I played as a child or what kinds of song I sung or what kind of books I read. Sometimes I use that as an opportunity to expose her to our culture in a fun way.
Well, the other day she asked me what kind of stuff I used to watch on TV. When I found “El Chavo del 8″ DVDs at Walmart, I knew I had to get them immediately so that I could show here instead of tell her.
If you grew up in Latin America in the ’70s and ’80s, then “El Chavo” (and “El Chapulín”) must have been a part of your daily life. Or, at least, they were of mine. I used to laugh so hard watching all the characters’ crazy antics. When I put the DVD in the player, I wasn’t sure how Vanessa would react – especially because I hadn’t told her too much about it other than to tell her that I was going to show what I used to watch as a child.
I wasn’t sure if she’d get some of the humor, but I guess I had forgotten the universality of stupidity! Ha! As soon as El Chavo did the first stupid thing – I think he was watering Don Ramón’s feet – she burst out laughing. She also laughed when she heard Kiko crying and after the second episode she was mimicking one of El Chavo’s immortal sayings: “Bueno pero no se enoje”, lifting her hands like him and all.
After seeing how much fun she’s been having watching those episodes, I decided that they were a great way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month because, to me, El Chavo will always be a part of our culture!
Another thing that I decided to include this month to celebrate our culture is more music. I’ve already got Vanessa (and even Santiago) hooked on several of old school Shakira songs, but I recently decided it was time to check out her last album in Spanish. I’d heard some of the songs and they reminded me of her beginnings, so I was happy to find the Sale el Sol CD at Walmart because that’s the only way we can listen to music in my car.
I was not disappointed an neither were my children. Not only did a lot of songs remind me of the music I fell in love with back in the early 90s, but I also loved the variety of genres, including merengue, reggaeton, rock, and ballads!
¡Muy divertido!
Disclosure: As part of the Walmart Moms program, SpanglishBaby received compensation and the product to facilitate this post. As always, all stories and opinions are our own.
