I asked about the warm-up music and it turns out it’s a genre called reggaeton that’s big in the US and huge in Latin America (particularly Puerto Rico). And it turns out one of the tunes that I love best is taken from this CD here – kids performing sanitised versions of reggaeton hits (sanitised because apparently the lyrics are pretty saucy, but they’re mostly in Spanish so I can’t tell).

The first time I put on the CD for Isabelle she just stared open-mouthed at her mother doing her perreo dancing to it in the kitchen (as did I, hoho). Then, after I’d played it in the background a few more times she started to ask for “the rompe CD”  – after the version of “Rompe” (originally by Daddy Yankee) that’s on it, which was the one that caught my attention in the salsa class. Then next thing you know bedtime stories are out the window again (the sure sign of a hit in our house) and we’re listening to it round the clock. Heather even, first thing in the morning when only her and me are up, shuffles over (she’s bypassed crawling and is instead shuffling around on her bum) and stares wistfully at the stereo until I put it on and then she’s chuckling and doing her crazy head-shaking dance and throwing her hands in the air like she just don’t care.

To be honest I really didn’t expect to like this album all that much apart from “Rompe”. The first song on it is a version of that Shakira hit “Hips don’t lie” which I found pretty grating in the original, and seeing it on the tracklisting nearly put me off. But, it turns out, if you subtract Shakira’s auto-tuned voice and the ridiculous lyrics (“keep on reading the signs of my body”) it’s actually a really good tune, and that reggaeton beat is … well, it’s irresistable. I’ve ended up getting totally hooked – I just love the first 4 tracks, and I’ve it constantly playing on my headphones in work as well as in the house. Though at this stage we’ve had to re-instate bedtime stories again, as this isn’t very appropriate wind-down music for bedtime … and me and the kids turn it off when Niamh gets up, because she needs a little quiet time first thing in the morning.

Anyway – a hit! Here’s the full niños version of Rompe on youtube, if the clips are not enough for you.

Kids don’t lie (Hips don’t lie) Rakata Rompe Ven Bailalo Machucando