As soon as I heard Abuelita Rosa sing, I was transported back to Miami. I felt like I was in a Cuban bakery, sipping a delicious cafecito cubano while munching a pastelito de guava. I know that probably sounds strange, but after spending the majority of my life in Miami, it’s impossible not to recognize the accent I immediately associate with the Caribbean – particularly Cuba. Needless to say, I felt like I was back in the place I called home for almost 21 years.
My three-year-old daughter, Vanessa, never lived in Miami (unless you count the six months she was in my belly before we moved to Colorado) and has only visited once. However, I have sung some of the songs that this plush doll belts out when you press her hand. The ones I haven’t she’s heard many times thanks to her father’s side of the family who hails from Puerto Rico. So she was thrilled when she heard Abuelita Rosa sing and realized she could actually sing-along.
Abuelita Rosa is an adorable grandma-looking doll dressed in a typical pink “bata de casa” created by a company out of Miami, Florida, called Baby Abuelita. The main concept behind Abuelita Rosa, her husband, Abuelito Pancho, and the rest of their products has to do with preserving our cultural heritage. From their website: “Our unique line of plush dolls sings very special nursery rhymes that will warm your heart, recapture the memories of your childhood and teach a new generation the joys of Hispanic musical heritage.”
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we are big advocates of using music to help your children along in their bilingual journey. But music is for more than just having fun while learning new vocabulary, it also has to do with heritage. For many of us, myself included, it wasn’t until we had children that we realized that although we might have had a vague memory of some of the lullabies, nanas or arrullos sung to us when we were babies, we didn’t really remember all the lyrics. The products created by Baby Abuelita will definitely jog your memory and make it easier for you to share with your little ones the songs that once made you feel loved.
Although my husband and I are both Latinos, we grew up in different countries and thus have different memories of our childhood. Vanessa is lucky in that she has been introduced to both our cultural traditions. One thing I truly liked about Baby Abuelita’s dolls is that they sing the kind of songs that I grew up with, such as “Arroz con Leche” and “Los pollitos dicen,” but also ones from my husband’s childhood, such as “Mi escuelita” and “Naranja dulce.”
Baby Abuelita’s award winning products also include two DVDs: Family Fiesta and Sail Away fun bingual videos which deal with family, traditions, and language issues. Plus they both have the added bonus of including a bunch of bilingual songs. My daughter’s fave episode is the one about traditional costumes and Hispanic Heritage Month.
Baby Abuelita is offering all of you a 20% discount when purchasing the mini-doll/Family Fiesta DVD combo (either Rosa or Pancho). Just enter the promotion code: MINI.
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I love Baby Abuelita! I met the ladies at Cuba Nostalgia in Miami a few years ago when I had a booth for Los Pollitos Dicen next to theirs. What a great, smart product.
We have Abuelito Pancho and I love how he sings, especially La Vaca Lechera. Now that Maria doesn’t play with him as much (she’s all grown up at 6, right?) he is on a special shelf in her room. Because of this, my Cuban mother says that poor Abuelito Pancho “esta exiliado!”
I hope my daughter cherishes that doll forever, and that she can pass it down to her own children…
Great post, Roxana…
.-= Carrie at Tiki Tiki Blog´s last blog ..Researching Latino Family Roots: Your Raices =-.
Carrie! I almost died laughing with the line about Abuelito Pancho “está exiliado!” Qué chiste!!!!
My daughter, who is only starting to be able to pronounce the CH calls him Abuelito Panto!!! She likes him so much she even took him to her preschool for Show & Tell
I love baby abuelita. Mikey had her and those were the first songs he knew all the lyrics to. I’ve wondered for a long time, What is a pilon? from “pon pon pon”
Sisi, I didn’t know Mikey had one… I just recently found out about them myself…
A pilón is a grinder to grind coffee beans, garlic, sofrito ingredients, etc by hand, of course, a must-have in a Caribbean kitchen…
I have heard about this company and their product line for a long time and then saw the dolls in a local big box retailers! Good for them! Good for the parents making certain those treasured songs are remembered and recorded for future generations.
Even though I am not a Latina, I feel strongly about my Spanish-speaking friends maintaining not only their native language but their culture, heritage and traditions, and I feel the gals that Carrie (of Tiki Tiki’s Blog) met are truly helping make this happen.
.-= Beth Butler´s last blog ..Help Your Child Learn About Animals and Become a Global Citizen =-.
Oh what a fun idea, thank you for the introduction. This will be great for my daughter who is turning two and I’m having a hard time remembering the words to many of these songs como “arroz con leche” I’m off now to check out their products. Thank you so so much for sharing this information.
Saludos
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..When your Toddler calls you Mama Lisa =-.
I bought this doll at Walmart of all places about 2 years ago! My mother passed away before my daughter was born and so is not here to sing her the songs herself. But her name was “Rosa” she lived in her “bata de casa” (even had a pink one), had white hair and wore glasses. I almost cried when I saw this doll in the store. I don’t know if it was more for my daughter or me