Our first song is one of the biggest crowd-pleasers in the repertoire -- "Alaba a Dios" ("Praise God") by Danny Berrios. It's got a great build to a dramatic chorus and it does that ascending key change thing at the end. The church often busts it out when they want to bring their "A" game. Church services typically open with an hour of music and this is often the capstone just before the preacher starts.
There are really only a handful of songs that were familiar to us from the U.S. When we have groups visiting, "We Are Walking in the Light of God" is popular since the Spanish version, "Caminando en la Luz de Dios" is well-known. (I keep pushing to get people to sing the Siyahamba verses too.) Occasionally we hear songs that meld church-y lyrics to popular tunes like "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" or this one (listen and let me know if you recognize the melody).
But one popular song that does earn that shock of recognition for us is "Abre Mis Ojos, o Cristo", a translation of "Open the Eyes of My Heart." Thankfully, the Spanish avoids the mixed metaphor of the English version. I could never help picturing a Valentine heart with animated eyeballs when singing this song.
The next song -- "Este corito es" ("This Choir is...") by Doris Machin -- is super-pentecostal in its theme (lots of Holy Spirit) and is one of Laura Jean's favorites because it has fun participatory dance moves. Now everyone spin around!
One more for a closer: here's "Te doy gloria" ("I give you glory") by Luz y Salvación. Mosh pit!
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