Journey to Nighttime Luna With 123 Andrés

Few parents willingly volunteers that they don't know something. Which is why I was mildly confounded by the new 123 Andres CD, LA LUNA. A genial and melodious fellow with genuinely good intentions and a clear singing voice, Andrés Salguero (and wife Christina Sanabria) have produced several award-winning Spanish (and English) children's music CDs.

Emphasis must be placed on Spanish first – which is why I was mildly confounded by the all-Spanish album jacket and had to quietly visit the website for English lyrics. Songs like "Un Elefante" are easy enough to figure out. But I needed a quick cheat sheet to determine that "La Pequeña Pilar" told the story of "Little Pilar," who only wants to grow up and have his own adventures.

With its accordion, "Benjamin" sounds almost French, which is why I was mildly confounded in explaining it my own son, Benjamin. Although the lyrics did almost quite describe him:

If you’d like to help him,
Have a dictionary handy,
And look for new words,
Just like Benjamin

A portion of the proceeds from LA LUNA benefit the Greater DC Diaper Bank, which aids families living below the poverty line. You can perform a good deed and put your kids to sleep at the same time – to use a third language, such a mitzvah. An English version of LA LUNA is planned for later this year. Depending on your level of fluency and the bilingual nature of your household, that may be innecesario. LA LUNA is a tranquil collection of bedtime-relatable songs that (with ego-saving web intervention) should entertain and fascinate inquisitive, tired toddlers.

LA LUNA is available April 13 from 123 Andres' website, Amazon, iTunes, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and  CDBABY.

Here is a video for several of Andres' songs: