Text: La brujita Tapita vivía en un cajón
Que no tenía puertas, ni ventanas no balcón.
La brujita Tapita vivía en un cajón
Con una gran escoba y un hermoso escobillón.
La brujita hacia brujerías
Abracadabra patas de cabra, abracadabra patas de cabra,
punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch.
Un día la brujita quiso desaparecer
Mirándose al espejo dijo 1, 2 y 3.
Y cuando abrió los ojos no se vio saben por qué?
Porque la distraída se miraba en la pared
La brujita hacia brujerías
Abracadabra patas de cabra abracadabra patas de cabra
Punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch
Translation:
The little witch, Tapita, lived in a drawer
That had no doors, no windows, no balcony.
The little witch, Tapita,
lived in a drawer
with a big broom and a beautiful broom.
The little witch does her spells,
Abracadabra goat legs, abracadabra goat legs,
punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch.
One day the witch wanted to disappear.
Looking in the mirror she said 1, 2 and 3,
and when she opened her eyes she didn’t see herself. Do you know why?
Because, distracted, she looked at herself on the wall.
The little witch does her spells,
Abracadabra goat legs, abracadabra goat legs,
Punch pupunch pupunch pupunch pupunch.
Context: The informant learned this song when she was young from her Aunt who lives in Bolivia, but the informant grew up in California. Spanish was her first language and English was her second language. She remembers singing this tale as a kid as a fun activity with her family, and believes it was used as a cautionary tale for little kids teaching them the dangers of magic and foolishness.
Analysis:
I believe that this tale, told in song form, is being used as a way to teach children not to be absentminded or foolish. I believe it is supposed to scare them into thinking that something bad will happen to them (i.e., their legs turning into goat’s legs) if they aren’t careful about what they do, and how they do it.
However, I think that by putting it to a tune and making it rhyme makes it more appealing and easier for kids to digest — They are learning without even realizing they are learning.
This tale could also be addressing a social hierarchy, placing judgment on a lower, working class people. Further, it is criticizing their homes (living in a small drawer swith no windows, no balcony, no doors—essentially suggesting an inability to exit this state). The only object mentioned is a broom, specifically a “beautiful broom”, again placing a strong value on the work this “little witch” (which is minimizing language in itself) will be doing. And, by suggesting the little witch lives in a drawer, there is the implication that someone else, beyond the little witch, has control over open and closing the drawer and accessing its contents whenever is necessary for them—the implication being that someone above the working class will always be able to access the “little witch” when it suits them.