Circle songs and games
Arroz con leche
A traditional circle game: «arroz con leche, me quiero casar» (“rice pudding, I want to get married”).
Lyrics (in Spanish)
The English meaning is under each line.
Arroz con leche, me quiero casarRice pudding, I want to get marriedcon una señorita de la capital,to a young lady from the capital,que sepa coser, que sepa bordar,who knows how to sew, who knows how to embroider,que sepa abrir la puerta para ir a jugar.who knows how to open the door to go out and play.Con esta sí, con esta no,This one yes, this one no,con esta señorita me caso yo.I’ll marry this young lady.
Yo soy la viudita, la hija del rey,I am the little widow, the king’s daughter,me quiero casar y no hallo con quién.I want to get married and I can’t find anyone.Pues siendo tan bella, no hallas con quién,Well, you’re so beautiful and can’t find anyone,escoge a tu gusto, que aquí tienes cien.choose whoever you like, there are a hundred here.Con esta sí, con esta no,This one yes, this one no,con esta señorita me caso yo.I’ll marry this young lady.
Arroz con leche, me quiero casarRice pudding, I want to get marriedcon una señorita de la capital,to a young lady from the capital,que sepa coser, que sepa bordar,who knows how to sew, who knows how to embroider,que sepa abrir la puerta para ir a jugar.who knows how to open the door to go out and play.Con esta sí, con esta no,This one yes, this one no,con esta señorita me caso yo.I’ll marry this young lady.
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How to play
- Make a circle holding hands, with one child in the middle.
- The circle walks around singing while the child in the middle looks at their friends.
- On «con esta sí, con esta no» (“this one yes, this one no”), they point at one friend after another to the beat.
- On «con esta señorita me caso yo» (“this is the one I’ll marry”), they pick someone, who moves to the middle for the next round.
- Singing together:
- Point slowly on «con esta sí, con esta no» so your child can keep the beat.
- Good for practicing:
- Playing in a circle, keeping the beat and taking turns.
- Other versions:
- Many places sing «de San Nicolás»; our video sings «de la capital».
All the lyrics in the songbookThese lyrics with pictograms, to print