New Victory Arts Break: Música

In their show Música, Sonia De Los Santos and her bandmates celebrate the musical traditions of their homelands and the female musicians who inspired them. With Arts Break activities celebrating Spanish language, Latin American instruments and the fun of making music together, what better time to strike up the family band? ¡Vámonos!

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Some of the videos in these Arts Break activities were filmed at the New Victory Theater. We acknowledge that New Victory resides on the seized homeland of the Lenape people and the intertribal territory of many First Nations. We celebrate and pay deep respect to all Indigenous peoples, past, present and future, and we encourage you to learn more about these vibrant communities.

Before the Show: Música de tu Vida

Sonia De Los Santos and her band are playing at the New Victory Theater, but our musical journey starts at home! Let’s join Siobhan Santini Pellot from New Victory Education and her mom, Josie, as they use music to learn some words in Spanish.

Siobhan and her mom used their song to learn new words. Here are some of the words they learned in Spanish and English:

Does anyone in your family speak another language? What things from your life could you translate into that language and practice through song?

Pick four words you’d like to learn and practice singing along with the audio recording below of Nicole on ukulele:

Once you feel ready, record your song to share with friends and family, or perform it live! Encourage your audience to sing along and learn some new words.

On the Way: Instrument Guessing Game

It’s almost time to see Música! You may have guessed that música is the Spanish word for “music,” but it’s also the Spanish word for a female musician! The musicians performing in Música with Sonia De Los Santos play many different types of instruments. Let’s learn a bit more about those instruments and try to identify them in a quick guessing game!

Thanks for playing along! When you notice these instruments on stage during the show, do your best to recall their names.

After the Show: Craft a Guitar!

Did Sonia and her band inspire you to create some music of your own? Let’s do it! Follow along with the steps below to craft a guitar you can strum at home.

Materials: A rectangular tissue box, a paper towel roll, six rubber bands, scissors, tape, and stickers or markers (optional)

Step One: Find an empty, rectangular tissue box and tear or cut away the clear plastic from the opening in the center.

Step Two: Hold the end of your paper towel roll against the short side of the tissue box and trace a circle around it.

Step Three: Adult supervision required! Have an adult use scissors to cut out the circle you traced, leaving a hole.

Step Four: Insert your paper towel roll into the hole and use tape to secure it into place.

Step Five: Stretch six rubber bands around your tissue box and align them over the opening in the center.

Step Six: Decorate your crafted guitar with stickers or markers! Our tissue box was already printed with a decorative pattern that we enjoyed, so we added a few details to the paper towel roll.

Put on your favorite song and play along! Can you keep up with the rhythm of the song by plucking the strings individually? What about strumming?

And Beyond: Please Don’t Stop the Music!

Thank you for singing and playing along with us today! The world is full of musical traditions big and small, so keep learning and listening. For more melodic fun, check out the Arts Break activities below from some rockstar New Victory Teaching Artists and Education staff.

One-two-three-and-four. Learn the basics of reading musical rhythms with Nicole Wong.

Turn the hidden talents of your family and friends into celebratory song lyrics with Julia Sirna-Frest.

Use music to inspire your next creation, from character to mood to movement, with Marisol Rosa-Shapiro.

Write and record a new song by sampling an old favorite with Jono Waldman.

Play a cumbia rhythm on a homemade güiro and maracas with Ana Cantorán-Viramontes. Note: This activity is in Spanish.

Feel the rhythm with some body percussion games in the inaugural Arts Break, starring Peter Musante and his dog, Palo!