‘Tis the Christmas season, so it’s time for some Christmas music! “Los peces en el río” is one of the most popular Spanish language carols, or villancicos. It is unknown who wrote this carol and when it was written, though it is believed to have become popular in the late 20th century. Musically it shows Arabic influence. It contrasts the excitement of the fish in the river over Jesus’ birth against Mary going about her daily tasks.

About the Artists

Pandora is a female trio from Mexico, formed in 1981 by sisters Isabel Lascurain, Mayte Lascurain and their cousin Fernanda Meade. During their school years, the Lascurain sisters and some friends performed together as “Las Jeans”. The sisters were later joined by their cousin and formed the trio ‘Trebol”. It was under this name that they recorded their first album in 1981 entitled El día que me quieras. In 1984 the trio was signed by EMI Records and was renamed “Pandora” after the first woman created on Earth in Greek mythology. They are best known for the song “¿Cómo te va mi amor?” which was recently included on the VH1 countdown of the 100 Best Songs of the 80s in Spanish at number 16. In 1993 they reached number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart with their rendition of “Without You”, entitled “Desde el Día Que Te Fuiste”, which appeared on their cover album Ilegal. The album received a nomination for Pop Album at the 1993 Lo Nuestro Awards and Pandora won for Pop Group of the Year.

Biographical information from Wikipedia.

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

‘volver a + infinitive’ – Translating literally as ‘to return to’, this phrase means ‘to do again’. In this song, the example we see is ‘vuelven a beber’ meaning ‘to drink again’.

‘la Virgen’ – While the term ‘virgen’ means ‘virgin’ generically, the proper noun ‘la Virgen’ refers specifically to the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.

‘pajarillos’ – This is a diminutive form of the term ‘pájaro’ meaning ‘bird’. While it can mean less than or smaller than the normal noun (i.e. little birds), often it is simply a stylistic change, with no change in meaning.

‘lavar’ vs ‘lavarse’ – This song shows a great example of a verb that can be used both reflexively and not reflexively. The verb ‘lavar’ is used when someone washes someone or something else, and the reflexive ‘lavarse’ when one washes oneself. In this song Mary washes both ‘pañales’ (diapers) and herself.

‘Se le han picado las manos’ – This is an example of the reflexive used passively. The reflexive verb is given a lack of cause and intention, as if it just happened. Here the hands are stung or bitten, but how are by what is not explained.

Activities

We’ve created flashcards, games, and exercises to practice vocabulary and grammatical concepts found in this song. Check out our Activities Page to take your learning further!

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

Mouse over a term for grammatical information. A chart of the terms and grammatical information can be found here.

Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing

[Chorus]
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aano equivalent in EN | prep | personal a, used when dir obj a person DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacidonacidoborn, alive | adj | masc sing
Bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj vuelvenvolverto return, come back | verb | third pers pl pres | volver a hacer = to do again aato, into, by | prep beberbeberto drink | verb | infin
Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aato, into, by | prep DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacernacerto be born; originate in | verb | infin

[Verse 1]
Lalathe | def art | fem sing Virgenvirgenvirgin | noun | fem sing | la Virgen = the Virgin (Mary) sesehimself, herself, itself, themselves | pron | reflex, third pers sing and pl estáestarto be | verb | third pers sing pres | aux verb in pres prog peinandopeinarsebrush, comb or style one's own hair | verb | ger
Entreentreamong, between, in | prep cortinacortinacurtain | noun | fem sing yyand | conj cortinacortinacurtain | noun | fem sing
Sussushis, her, its, their | poss adj | masc and fem pl cabelloscabellohair | noun | masc pl sonserto be | verb | third pers pl pres dedefrom, of | prep oroorogold | noun | masc sing
Yyand | conj elelthe | def art | masc sing peinepeinecomb | noun | masc sing dedefrom, of | prep plataplatasilver | noun | fem sing finafinofine; thin, slim; high-quality; sooth | adj | fem sing

[Chorus]
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aano equivalent in EN | prep | personal a, used when dir obj a person DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacidonacidoborn, alive | adj | masc sing
Bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj vuelvenvolverto return, come back | verb | third pers pl pres | volver a hacer = to do again aato, into, by | prep beberbeberto drink | verb | infin
Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aato, into, by | prep DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacernacerto be born; originate in | verb | infin

[Verse 2]
Lalathe | def art | fem sing Virgenvirgenvirgin | noun | fem sing | la Virgen = the Virgin (Mary) lavalavarwash, launder | verb | third pers sing pres pañalespañaldiaper | noun | masc pl
Yyand | conj loslosthem | pron | dir obj tiendetenderhang up; stretch out; lay down, lay out | verb | third pers sing pres enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing romeroromerorosemary | noun | masc sing
Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pajarillospájarobird | noun | masc pl | dim form cantandocantarto sing; to confess | verb | ger
Yyand | conj elelthe | def art | masc sing romeroromerorosemary | noun | masc sing floreciendoflorecerflower, bloom; flourish, prosper | verb | ger

[Chorus]
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aano equivalent in EN | prep | personal a, used when dir obj a person DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacidonacidoborn, alive | adj | masc sing
Bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj vuelvenvolverto return, come back | verb | third pers pl pres | volver a hacer = to do again aato, into, by | prep beberbeberto drink | verb | infin
Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aato, into, by | prep DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacernacerto be born; originate in | verb | infin

[Verse 3]
Lalathe | def art | fem sing Virgenvirgenvirgin | noun | fem sing | la Virgen = the Virgin (Mary) sesehimself, herself, itself, themselves | pron | reflex, third pers sing and pl estáestarto be | verb | third pers sing pres | aux verb in pres prog lavandolavarto wash | verb | ger
Conconwith | prep ununa | indef art | masc sing pocopocolittle, a little bit | noun | masc sing dedefrom, of | prep jabónjabónsoap | noun | masc sing
Sesepassive se | pron | talks about something that happened without saying who or what carried out the action lele(to) him, (to) her, (to) them, it, you | pron | indir obj, third pers sing hanhaberto have | verb | third pers pl pres | aux verb used with the pp in the pret perf picadopicarsting, bite; itch; break, chip; grind, mince chop; bother, bug; peck at | verb | pp laslasthe | def art | fem pl manosmanohand | noun | fem pl
Manosmanohand | noun | fem pl dedefrom, of | prep mimimy | poss adj | masc and fem sing corazóncorazónheart | noun | masc sing

[Chorus]
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing
Peroperobut | conj miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera comocomolike, as, since; how | adv bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aano equivalent in EN | prep | personal a, used when dir obj a person DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacidonacidoborn, alive | adj | masc sing
Bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj vuelvenvolverto return, come back | verb | third pers pl pres | volver a hacer = to do again aato, into, by | prep beberbeberto drink | verb | infin
Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aato, into, by | prep DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacernacerto be born; originate in | verb | infin (x2)

Bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj bebenbeberto drink | verb | third pers pl pres yyand | conj vuelvenvolverto return, come back | verb | third pers pl pres | volver a hacer = to do again aato, into, by | prep beberbeberto drink | verb | infin
Loslosthe | def art | masc pl pecespezfish | noun | masc pl enenin, on, during | prep elelthe | def art | masc sing ríoríoriver, stream | noun | masc sing porporfor; because of; by | prep ververto see | verb | infin aato, into, by | prep DiosDiosGod | noun | masc sing nacernacerto be born; originate in | verb | infin

Lyrics with Translation

Songs in any language often leave room for multiple interpretations. Following is my interpretation of the song lyrics.

Los peces en el río
The Fish in the River

[Chorus]
Pero mira como beben los peces en el río
But look how the fish in the river drink
Pero mira como beben por ver a Dios nacido
But look how they drink to see God born
Beben y beben y vuelven a beber
They drink and they drink and they drink again
Los peces en el río por ver a Dios nacer
The fish in the river to see God born

[Verse 1]
La Virgen se está peinando
The Virgin is combing her hair
Entre cortina y cortina
Between curtains
Sus cabellos son de oro
Her hair is golden
Y el peine de plata fina
And the comb of fine silver

[Chorus]
Pero mira como beben los peces en el río
But look how the fish in the river drink
Pero mira como beben por ver a Dios nacido
But look how they drink to see God born
Beben y beben y vuelven a beber
They drink and they drink and they drink again
Los peces en el río por ver a Dios nacer
The fish in the river to see God born

[Verse 2]
La Virgen lava pañales
The Virgin washes diapers
Y los tiende en el romero
And hangs them on the rosemary
Los pajarillos cantando
The birds singing
Y el romero floreciendo
And the rosemary blooming

[Chorus]
Pero mira como beben los peces en el río
But look how the fish in the river drink
Pero mira como beben por ver a Dios nacido
But look how they drink to see God born
Beben y beben y vuelven a beber
They drink and they drink and they drink again
Los peces en el río por ver a Dios nacer
The fish in the river to see God born

[Verse 3]
La Virgen se está lavando
The Virgin is washing herself
Con un poco de jabón
With a little bit of soap
Se le han picado las manos
Her hands have been stung
Manos de mi corazón
Hands of my heart

[Chorus]
Pero mira como beben los peces en el río
But look how the fish in the river drink
Pero mira como beben por ver a Dios nacido
But look how they drink to see God born
Beben y beben y vuelven a beber
They drink and they drink and they drink again
Los peces en el río por ver a Dios nacer (x2)
The fish in the river to see God born (x2)

Beben y beben y vuelven a beber
They drink and they drink and they drink again
Los peces en el río por ver a Dios nacer
The fish in the river to see God born

Grammatical Concepts Used in this Song

• Possessive adjectives:
  • Sus cabellos son de oro
  • Manos de mi corazón

• Pronominal / Reflexive:
  • La Virgen se está peinando
  • La Virgen se está lavando
  • Se le han picado las manos (passive relexive)

• Imperative:
  • Pero mira como beben los peces en el río
  • Pero mira como beben por ver a Dios nacido

• Irregular:
  • Ser:
    • Sus cabellos son de oro
  • Stem Changing:
    • Beben y beben y vuelven a beber
    • Y los tiende en el romero

• Gerund:
  • Los pajarillos cantando
  • Y el romero floreciendo
• In Present Progressive:
  • La Virgen se está peinando
  • La Virgen se está lavando

• Preterite Perfect:
  • Se le han picado las manos