Arepitas pa´papá
Arepitas pa´papá
Little Arepas For Daddy
Rima para jugar a las palmas
Hand Clapping Rhyme
(Spanish)
(English)
Arepitas pa´papá
que mañana se nos va
para Bogotá
Arepitas pa' mamá
que mañana se nos va
para Panamá.
Little arepas* for Daddy
Who tomorrow is going
To Bogota
Little arepas for Mommy
Who tomorrow is going
To Panama.
Notes
*An arepa is a type of food made of ground maize dough stuffed with a filling, eaten in northern parts of South America since pre-Columbian times, and notable primarily in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela, but also present in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama… The name "arepa" is related to "erepa", the word for "cornbread" in the language of the Cumanagoto people, a group of Native Americans in South America. -(Wikipedia)
The diminutive "arepita" doesn't necessarily mean that they're small, it's "little" arepas to convey endearment!
The 2nd and 5th lines include "nos" in the original lyrics. It's untranslatable but is literally "who tomorrow is 'us' going". This expletive "us" is a way in some Romance languages to insist on the emotional relationship between the characters, e.g. Southern French moms saying "My son has done the flu to me" instead of "My son had the flu").
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Jessica Palacio Henao for contributing this hand clapping rhyme for babies!