Las Mañanitas

Last week several friends celebrated birthdays, and we had the fun of hearing "Las Mañanitas" sung for them. I love the Mexican birthday song, which traditionally is sung to the birthday person on the morning of her cumpleaños. Some of my favorite stanzas are (the whole song is bit more involved than "Happy Birthday to You"):

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

Que linda esta la mañana
en que vengo a saludarte.
Venimos todos con gusto
y placer a felicitarte.

El día en que tú naciste,
nacieron todas las flores,
en la pila del bautizo,
cantaron los ruiseñores.

Wake up, my dear, wake up,
see it is already dawn
and the little birds are singing,
and the moon has gone.

How pretty is the morning
that comes to greet you today.
We also come joyful to greet you
and wish you a happy birthday.

The day that you were born,
so were all the flowers.
And at your baptismal font,
the nightingales sang for hours.