SA Chorus and Piano

Recommended for: All ages

Optional Instrumentation: Piano, lead guitar, acoustic bass, guira, tambora drum

One day while making soup for my son Sebastián, my mother created a song and dance about the soup* that my wife Elizabeth was cooking. I was so excited and inspired by the song that I added verses and finished it as an arrangement for chorus, using the rhythms of the Dominican Republic. The merengue is based on the Dominican drum, tambora, in a 4-beat pattern that emphasizes the last beat as a pick up to the first beat, and the güira, a metal scraper that dances around the drum. Two guitars are often used, one to keep a strumming pattern and the other to pick the interludes. La Sopa de Isabel can be done with piano and/or guitars, and should be strong, even and driving. (*The ingredients of the soup are a combination of Irish potato soup with Dominican flavors.)

Performance Time: 5 minutes

Verse 1

En la cocina mi mami se pasa el día In the kitchen my mom spend the day

Cortando tocino poniendole sal Cutting bacon and adding salt

Lavando y majando las papas en agua Washing and mashing the potatoes in water

Meneate bailando de aqui pa’ allá I dance and wiggle from here to there

Refrain

Que buena la sopa, That good soup,

La sopa de papa The potato soup

Que buena la sopa, That good soup,

La sopa de papa The potato soup

Una sopa tan sabrosa A soup so tasty

Que nadie la deja No one would leave it

Una sopa tan sabrosa A soup so tasty

Bailamos con ella We danced with her

Que buena la sopa, That good soup,

La sopa de papa The potato soup

Que buena la sopa, That good soup,

La sopa de papa The potato soup

Una sopa tan sabrosa A soup so tasty

Que nadie le deja No one would leave it

Una sopa ta sabrosa The soup’s so tasty

La sopa de Isabel! Elizabeth’s soup!

Verse 2

Llorando y cortando cebollas y ajo Crying while chopping onions and garlic

un poco de adobo le da el sabor Marinate it in adobo to give it the flavor

Lavando y majando las papas en agua Washing and mashing the potatoes in water

Meneate bailando de aqui pa’ allá I dance and wiggle from here to there

Bridge

Damela caliente Give me some hot

Soplala, sabrosa I’ll blow on it – delicious!