Two Tranquilo Thumbs Up for Putumayo Kids

By Joshua | June 5th, 2009 | No Comments

As both a new father and a guitar-slingin’ elementary school teacher (Spanish, grades 1-7), I have taken up a new interest in childrens’ music this past year, especially los canciones infantiles, as the genre is known in Spanish.

My favorite Spanish-language artists (so far) are El Pro Musica De Rosario, Jose Luis Orozco, Judith Akoschky, and Mary Thienes-Schunemann (please let me know if you recommend any others).

Then, of course, in a class of its own, is any album by Putumayo Kids. This world-folk record label’s dedication to childrens’ music is amazing. Until recently, I thought all they did was make great multilingual compilations (for kids music, start with African Dreamland). Turns out the Putumayo people also make music videos (including Asheba’s “No More Monkeys”, linked above), just launched a blog (the title of the first post is “DJ Spooky, Lila Downs and Herbie Treehead Discuss Kids Music!”), and they even offer an educational program with downloadable teacher tools! (Can’t wait to try these out next fall).