Students from Ms. Kathy Giannitsanos' 3rd grade class at P.S.11 wrote this song about Luz Garcia, based on an interview they conducted with her. Luz is the co-owner of Your's Bakery, which used to be across from the school on Roosevelt Ave in Woodside, Queens (NY).  

The student songwriters were: Claudia Acosta, Jannath Ahmed, Monica Arora, Agnieszka Nico Boron, Tynell Jarod Brown, Carolann Cely, Anna Chow, Abeda Chowdhury, Dennis Junn Yo Chung, Raphael Do, Ahmed Noor Hasan, Melanie Huerta, Kun Hee Kim, Natalie Kim, Cheyenne Kinder, Raymond Lee, Zubaer Mohsin, Anupama Pilcrow, Kenneth Rios, Destinee Rivera, Patricia Santos, Cathryn Seaman, Jeong Min Shin, Alessa Sikorsky, Kiara Tene, Wesley Ying, Ka Hun Yu.


Hey Luz

(spoken)Luz works in a bakery... and here's a song about her
Out of 40 million people in Colombia
We are only singing about one
She told us of a place called San Andres
A beautiful island in the sun
She comes from a valley, a town they call Cali
Where people are friendly, say hi when you pass by
On weekends she would visit her family
But 9 years ago she said bye-bye

(Chorus):
Hey Luz, Hey Luz -- This is a song about you!
Hey Luz, Hey Luz -- This is a song about you!

She works in a bakery, bakes a lot of things
She likes to go dancing, and hear the people sing
She went to a school called "Moderno"
With Walter, Hector, Franklin, and Roberto (Those are her brothers!)
Walter, Hector, Franklin, and Roberto

(Chorus)

She loves to read, to dream, to go to the movies
She loves to eat cookies, and dance to the groovies
Read, dream, go to the movies
She loves to eat cookies, and dance to the groovies 

(Chorus)

For Valentine's Day, she don't get chocolate
She gets cards and flowers instead
She's not used to chocolate -- she's more used to seafood
And she's always so busy baking bread
She's always so busy baking bread
She works in a bakery--the food is made deliciously
The sweets are so tasty--the pastries are so good
Areas, empanadas, chicharron
Mmmm, I got to get me some

(Chorus)

(c) Perfect Kind of Music (ASCAP) words & music:  P.S. 11 Class 3-108 (Ms. Giannitsanos) AND Leo Schaff of City Lore  --  2001-02

Hey Luz

Ms. Kathy Giannitsano's third grade class at PS 11 in Woodside, Queens interviewed Clara Lopez, a classroom teacher and Colombian immigrant. Then with the help of teaching artist Leo Schaff the students wrote and recorded this song based on their interview with Clara.  

The students were: students were: Claudia Acosta, Jannath Ahmed, Monica Arora, Agnieszka Nico Boron, Tynell Jarod Brown, Carolann Cely, Anna Chow, Abeda Chowdhury, Dennis Junn Yo Chung, Raphael Do, Ahmed Noor Hasan, Melanie Huerta, Kun Hee Kim, Natalie Kim, Cheyenne Kinder, Raymond Lee, Zubaer Mohsin, Anupama Pilcrow, Kenneth Rios, Destinee Rivera, Patricia Santos, Cathryn Seaman, Jeong Min Shin, Alessa Sikorsky, Kiara Tene, Wesley Ying, Ka Hun Yu.


Clara Saw an Eagle

Clara saw an eagle up in the sky
The wind was blowing in her face 
Causing her to cry
Clara saw an eagle way up high
She thought she saw her father
At the same time

Chorus:
And a tear ran down her lonely eye
She wondered why, she wondered why
It reminded her of when she had
To say goodbye, to say goodbye
Manizales, Colombia – Manizales, Colombia
Manizales, Colombia – Manizales, Colombia

Clara saw an eagle up in the sky
Looking for the river
Where many people died
She thought she saw an angel way up high
And thought about her country
Why must people die?

(Chorus)

Clara saw an eagle up in the sky.

(c) Perfect Kind of Music (ASCAP) words & music: P.S. 11 Class 3-108 (Ms. Giannitsanos) AND Leo Schaff of City Lore -- 2001-02

Clara Saw an Eagle

As part of the songwriting residency, City Lore teaching artist Leo Schaff taught Ms. Giannitsanos' and Ms. Fotakis' third grade classes critical interviewing skills. These included close listening, open-ended vs. closed questions, follow-up and elaboration, and note-taking. This is an excerpt from an interview conducted by the students with Clara Lopez about her life. With Leo's help students then took what they learned from their interview and crafted it into an original song honoring Clara.

Interview with Clara Lopez questions

Interview excerpt with Clara Lopez - student questions

Founded in 1986, City Lore’s mission is to foster New York City – and America’s – living cultural heritage through education and public programs.  We document, present, and advocate for New York City’s grassroots cultures to ensure their living legacy in stories and histories, places and traditions.  We work in four cultural domains:  urban folklore and history; preservation; arts  education; and grassroots poetry traditions. In each of these realms, we see ourselves as furthering cultural equity and modeling a better world with projects as dynamic and diverse as New York City itself.

Hey Luz

City Lore

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