The Guiro!
About the “guiro”…
The güiro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡwiɾo]) is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound.
The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role in the typical rhythm section of important genres like cumbia and salsa. Playing the güiro usually requires both long and short sounds, made by scraping up and down in long or short strokes with a “scraper”, sometimes referred to as a “pua”.
The güiro, like the maracas, is often played by a singer. You can make your own guiro at home using an empty plastic water bottle with ridges and a popsicle stick or pencil!
The kids enjoyed learning about this Latin instrument and singing "La Cucaracha" and "Diez Amigos" (a fingerplay) with the guiro. We were able to experiment and try manipulating the scraper, as well as watch a video of cartoon dancing cockroaches (see below) playing the guiro to "La Cucaracha"! I also taught the children a bit about Latin America and showed them the involved countries on the map. Check out the Youtube video below of "Diez Amigos" with our combined toddler and twos classes! Children from toddler ages and up received a guiro coloring sheet. Look in your child's cubby for their coloring page and a condensed description of this rhythm instrument!
