It offers an amazing opportunity for meaningful conversation about what we intentionally do to fit in–and also what we do to fit in without even knowing that we are doing it! (I always think of the scene from Devil Wears Prada where the editor tells Anne Hathaway that the only reason she likes the color blue that she is wearing is because such-and-such designer used it on the runway X number of years ago, and then this designer picked it up, and then that one, and eventually it appeared in Target or wherever Anne was buying her clothes.) Here is an excellent documentary clip that you can show to your students when you listen to the song (my favorite part is the 5 de mayo cap that one guy is wearing! Ha!). Pantalón Blue Jean is awesome because HELLO Flaco Jiménez and DOUBLE HELLO acordión! It is also a great song to use because of its historical/sociacultural context, about chicanos trying to fit in with mainstream culture by wearing blue jeans. Seriously, friends, you can make anything cool in your classes if you fake it hard enough! I used to number my students one-two-one-two-one-two around the room and then the 1’s and the 2’s would bop up and down on alternate beats. No–it’s not cutting edge and cool, but it is classic, comprehensible, and perfect for bopping up and down to. I friggin love this song, and my students loved to hate it. If the group’s predicted reaction matches the member’s actual reaction, they get a point! Or…to make it really complicated…you could play it à la Señora Chase, and make it a Get Lucky Newlywed game (but don’t call it that HAHA!). I made a version of “The Newlywed Game”, where students read a scenario in which they “see” something or someone interesting, controversial or famous (a unicorn, Donald Trump, a character from Fortnite) and then have to guess how a specific remember of their group would react. I like this song because ChocQuibTown has a cool vibe and a different sound than many other groups that I work with regularly, and the lead vocalist is a female!įor this song, I chose to focus on the hook, “ Cuando te veo”, and created a way to personalize that structure. The “ve” part is the natural fit, obviously–not the running of the bulls -). I chose this song because it’s a perfect fit for Unit 2 of my SOMOS 1 curriculum, where students are working with corre, camina, and ve and then learning about the running of the bulls.