Putumayo Kids Latin Dreamland is a musical journey through Latin America–from Mexico’s “Cucurrucucú Paloma” to Brazil’s “Noite de Lembrar.”

Latin Dreamland enables parents to infuse culturally tasteful music to children during nap time or right before bedtime. The disc is comprised of ten lullabies interpreted by a collage of Latin American artists.

It’s hard to choose a favorite from the rich arrangement of songs. Luis Salinas bolero, “Un Vals,” is the perfect Argentinian embodiment of childhood dreamland. Maruca’s, “Canción de Cuna” and Marta Gómez’s “Cielito Lindo” are interpreted in the maternal comfort any child would be willing to cuddle up to.

Perhaps my favorite song was “El Eco” by Los Incas. I’ve been listening to Andean music for a very long time, the mixture of wind and string instruments are a vessel to the magical landscapes that Perú is known for. There is also an element of storytelling in the non-lyrically enhanced genre unmatched by any other form of expression.

Putumayo World Music was built on the goal of introducing people to the music of the world’s cultures and their motto is “guaranteed to make you feel good!” Latin Dreamland is a precise embodiment of culturally rich music that makes you feel good. We are sure that the collection will become a favorite for nap time for both child and parent.

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The Giveaway!

We are giving away one copy of Putumayo’s Latin Dreamland CD to TWO lucky winners. All you have to do is visit the Putumayo Latin Dreamland page and leave us a comment telling us what song(s) you are most excited to hear. Then, enter the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo by bimurch

As I was rummaging through some baby toys and books getting them ready for Santiago, who just turned five months and is so much more interested in all kinds of things, I came across a CD of lullabies that I received as a gift from one of my mother’s sisters in Mexico. I immediately remembered how lucky my kids are to have family in South Latin America that can help them appreciate their culture even more through amazing examples.

The CD is called Arriba del Cielo by Susana Harp. I’m really not sure why it was in the box of baby books, although I guess my daughter stopped listening to lullabies a while back. Anyhow, I immediately decided to play it, and a bunch of memories came rushing back.

I used to play it for Vanessa when she was a baby. That feels like a long time ago, and she is only three and a half years old. Although we didn’t understand the majority of the lyrics – Harp sings in several of Mexico’s indigenous tongues: Zapoteco, Maya, Mixteco and Náhualt – her beautiful voice is definitely soothing. Half of the songs are in Spanish and you can find translations of the lyrics, for the ones that are not, in the CD booklet. Vanessa very quickly realized it wasn’t all in Spanish and wanted to know what language it was and why. One awesome opportunity to talk about languages and diversity!

Harp describes her CD, which she dedicated to her son Emiliano, as “arrullos, rondas, juegos, nanas…cantos de niños, murmullos del alma.” ¿Qué lindo, no?

The other day, I played the track entitled La Boda del Sapo y la Rana, just to see Vanessa’s reaction. She is totally into “cuentos,” so she loved that this song tells the story of the wedding between the toad and the frog. She was able to pick up on a lot of words and then I just retold her the story in simpler words. And, we listened to it again!

In researching a little bit more about Harp, I found out that the Mexican singer has dedicated her musical career to gathering information and rescuing the sounds of her country, in particular of her own state, Oaxaca. The songs on the CD go as far back as prehistoric Mayan times. In an interview, Harp explained that it took her over four years to research and gather all the songs she decided to include in Arriba del Cielo. Talk about a labor of love!

Anyhow, now that the CD has been rescued from the depths of the box full of baby toys, we will be listening to it a lot more.