“Las Mañanitas” Con Mariachi: For Our Mamás

If you’re looking for something to serenade your mom with this morning. Look no further. “Las Mañanitas” con mariachi is a tradition from Mexico everyone can appreciate. But what’s the story behind the song?

“Las Mañanitas” is the traditional birthday and Mother’s Day song in Mexico and, according to Wikipedia, many other Latin American countries. (We can only vouch for Mexico at the time of this writing.) It is often used to wake the guest of honor early in the morning as the lyrics are about waking up and celebrating the day you were born:

Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,
A las  madrecitas lindas 
Te las cantamos así

Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,
Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.

Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,
Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte,
Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,
Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.

Translation:

This is the morning song that King David sang
To the beautiful mothers, we sing it this way.
Wake up, my dear, wake up, look it is already dawn
The birds are already singing and the moon has set

How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you
We all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate you
The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light
Get up in the morning, look it is already dawn

Aw. It is, without a doubt, way more awesome than the American birthday song. Especially if you are lucky enough to have a mariachi troupe or trio to serenade you. If not, fear not. We have a few recorded versions here you can play for your mom.

According to Wikipedia, the most famous recording of Las Mañanitas is by Pedro Infante.