Fieldwork Archive
This is a variant of a well-known children's song sung throughout Latin America. It is often sung as a lullaby and sometimes associated with the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. It is speculated to originate from an old Spanish divination game, rocotín rocotán or recotín recotán (nowadays this game is recognized in some parts of Latin America as a children's game). It may have undergone a Christianization in concurrence with pagan summer solstice (midsummer) festivals.
