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Make a pair of Maracas – Chac-Chacs!

In today’s lesson, we will explore more genres of music from the Caribbean islands and learn how to make your own pair of maracas with recycled objects.

Maracas, also known as rumba shakers or chac-chacs, belong to the percussion family of musical instruments. They are traditionally made from gourds, a type of fruit! Percussion instruments help to keep the beat and rhythms of songs. They include drums, like the conga, steel drums, and the pandeiro. They also include instruments like the cowbell and agogo that make hollow bell sounds. The guiro, also known as a scraper, is also in the percussion family. Some percussion instruments like the boleador keep a steady beat, while other percussion instruments build on those beats and sometimes improvise on top of the steady beats. When musicians improvise, they play what feels right as it goes along with the sounds that other musicians are making in the moment.

Today, you will make your own set of maracas or chac-chacs!  The word “maraca” is believed to come from the native people of Central and South America. In the Caribbean islands such as Grenada, Martinique, and Trinidad,  they do not use the term maracas. Instead, they are called chac-chacs. Chac-chacs can be heard in musical genres like Calypso.
When you are done making your maracas or chac-chacs, find a song to improvise to. You can find a favorite song or find one on our Tiny Travelers Caribbean Islands music playlist here See if you can match to the steady beat using your maracas. Then, see if you can improvise! Most of all, have fun while you get down and shake!

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Raising a bilingual child? On this page, our very own Director of Learning Design and Efficacy, Sophia Espinoza, addresses some of the most common questions, concerns, and curiosities around the benefits of bilingualism. Get the scoop below!

Sophia Espinoza is a career educator and curriculum designer with seven years of experience teaching in private and independent schools across the country. She is an expert in 21st-century education, including technologically-powered personalization, multilingual and multicultural curriculums, and social-emotional learning.

Sophia began teaching in Chicago Public Schools through Chicago Teaching Fellows, learning to support both English Language Learners and students with neurodiverse needs. Among her proudest accomplishments is launching the AltSchool Spanish Immersion Program, with the mission of creating bilingual global citizens who are socially conscious and environmentally aware. Sophia holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and M.A.Ed. from Dominican University.

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