Wordville Cinco de Mayo Reading Print Hispanic Heritage Reading

The Jarabe Tapatio (Mexican Hat Dance) is the most popular folk dance to come from Mexico. It is taught in schools both in Mexico and in the United States. It is also enjoyed at fiestas, shows, and birthday parties.

The Mexican Hat Dance started out as a more complicated dance. It told a story of a poor boy in love with a beautiful girl. The boy throws his sombrero (Mexican hat) on the ground as a gift. The girl accepts him by dancing on the brim of his hat.

The simple and popular Mexican Hat Dance goes like this:

1. Kick your heel out five times, alternating feet each time; Clap twice. Repeat #1 four times until the chorus, when the beat changes.

2. At the chorus, link elbows with a partner and skip around in a circle.
Circle once, and then circle the opposite direction.
Repeat with a different partner throughout chorus.

The music begins slowly, but speeds up with each chorus.

Play the music and give the dance a try!

Here's the start of the music:  

What does Jarabe Tapatio mean in English?
Tap your feet
Mexican Hat Dance
stomp
Mexican Hat Dance What is a sombrero?
a hat
a drink
a male dancer
a hat Doing the Hat Dance, how many times do you clap after kicking your heels?
1 time
2 times
3 times
2 times The Mexican Hat Dance is the most popular folk dance to come from Mexico.
True
False
It doesn't say in the story.
True The Mexican Hat Dance gets slower with each chorus.
True
False
It doesn't say in the story.
False In the original Hat Dance, why does the boy throw down his sombrero?
to stomp on it
It falls off while dancing.
as a gift for the girl
as a gift for the girl What does it mean when the girl dances on the brim of the boy's sombrero?
She accepts him.
She doesn't like him.
She wants the sombrero.
She accepts him.

Wordville Cinco de Mayo Reading Hispanic Heritage Reading