It has often been said that wherever there are Spanish-speaking people there is singing. This collection of songs from the Spanish-speaking world - Spain, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and especially the Southwest - is a sampling of the varied moods of Hispanic song. From the playful and high-spirited to the thoughtful and nostalgic, there is a special beauty and an unmistakable Hispanic identity.

The first European settlers of the Americas, arriving about a hundred years before others, came from Spain. Like all travellers to foreign lands, they brought with them the culture of their homeland. Through the five hundred ensuing years this culture has taken root and flourished in many places. Some of their songs and proverbs and stories, many of them dating from hundreds of years prior to their coming to America, have survived intact and are heard today in diverse settings. Others retain echoes of their past but, like all music of the folk, have changed with the changing generations, with their changing environment.

Also included in this collection are some which have arisen here, perhaps as a response to specific events, but always reflecting their Spanish background and forebears, los antepasados.

Nowhere is the need greater for retaining the original language than in children's songs with their frequent use of nonsense words &endash; untranslatable - and hidden meanings below the surface of the actual words. In addition there are some qualities of Spanish music which are easily removed when the language is translated, such as an accented syllable in unexpected places. In most cases the language of a Spanish song can be at best adapted with approximate meaning of the original and only rarely with the quality of the original text. For these reasons "singable translations" are not included in most cases.

I hope you and your students will find pleasure - and value - in experiencing this small sampling of the great treasure of Hispanic folklore. It was a pleasure to me to collect it, arrange it, and bring it to you. I owe special thanks to three friends, Mary Helen Fierro Klare and Jessica Burns who helped me out of numerous translation snags; and Jenny Wells Vincent whose lifelong work in collecting, preserving and sharing Hispanic song and dance have inspired me over the years. I present it especially to a small coyote,* in the hope that it may be one step in preserving her Spanish heritage.

*Coyote is an affectionate term used in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado for those of half-Spanish descent.